The promise of a more meaningful reduction in public-sector financing needs through spending cuts remained largely unfulfilled. The primary deficit (excluding interest payments) declined from 3.2% of GDP at the end of the Biden administration to 2.7% in 2025 and likely 2.5% in 2026, but this does not appear sufficient to alter the trajectory of the overall fiscal deficit. Moreover, the adjustment has been driven more by higher revenues than by lower spending.
