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Donald Trump’s landmark tax bill will add $2.4tn to the US deficit by 2034, the congressional fiscal watchdog has warned, in the latest blow to the president as he seeks to push the legislation through the Senate.
The Congressional Budget Office said on Wednesday that the legislation — dubbed the “big beautiful bill” by Trump — would swell the country’s ballooning debt pile despite the administration’s insistence that it would lead to a budget surplus.
The non-partisan estimate comes a day after billionaire Trump backer Elon Musk slammed the bill as a “disgusting abomination”, arguing that it would undo much of the cost cutting work of his so-called Department of Government Efficiency.
The bill narrowly passed the US House of Representatives last month. It faces an uphill battle in the Senate, where Republican fiscal conservatives have expressed concerns over its spending levels.
The Trump administration has insisted that estimates of its fiscal consequences have failed to take into account the bill’s impact on economic growth.
Wednesday’s estimate does not include macroeconomic effects, which will be analysed later.
This is a developing story