The Republicans’ $3 Trillion Vanishing Act

With a tiebreaking vote from Vice President JD Vance, the Senate has adopted President Trump’s giant domestic policy bill, which now heads back to the House for a final vote.

The legislation is defined by the staggering amount of debt it will create: more than $3 trillion.

Andrew Duehren, who covers tax policy, and Colby Smith, who covers the economy, talk about how Republicans have rewritten the rules to make that debt vanish, and why the world is less and less convinced that the United States can handle its debts.

Guest:

• Andrew Duehren, who writes about tax policy for The New York Times from Washington.
• Colby Smith, a New York Times reporter covering the Federal Reserve and the U.S. economy.

Background reading: 

• The Senate bill would add at least $3.3 trillion to the national debt, the budget office says.
• The bill puts the nation on a new, more perilous fiscal path.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Photo: Ken Cedeno/Reuters

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