On a fiscal-year basis the deficit fell about 2.3%, from $1.82 trillion in FY2024 to $1.78 trillion in FY2025 - not 27%. The larger number comes from comparing a cherry-picked window of calendar months, and CBO projects FY2026 will end higher than FY2025.FactCheck.org, CBO, U.S. Treasury · Feb 19, 2026