US Debt to Top $54 Trillion – Budget Office
The US national debt could surge by $19 trillion over the next decade to surpass the $54 trillion mark, owing to the mounting costs of an aging population and higher interest expenses, according to the latest report by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The debt exceeded $34 trillion in December.
A key factor that will likely lead to a further surge in the national debt is the sharp increase in the federal deficit, according to the CBO, which projects the annual shortfall rising to $2.6 trillion in 2034, up from $1.6 trillion this year, adding $18.9 trillion to the national debt during the decade.
The CBO’s director, Phillip Swagel, told reporters last week that the US remained on track to rack up more debt as a share of its total economic output in 2034 than at any other time in its history. “The first message of the projections is a familiar one: that the fiscal trajectory is daunting. On the other hand, it is a little bit less bad than it was in our projections last year,” Swagel said, as quoted by the New York Times.
The budget office’s projections come as Congress faces another deadline next month to agree on federal spending legislation. Lawmakers have been in a heated debate lately over providing more aid to Ukraine and Israel.
Meanwhile, interest rates in the US skyrocketed to two-decade highs over the past year, making borrowing costs a significant contributor to the national debt. According to the CBO, the US will spend more than $12 trillion alone on interest costs from 2024 to 2034. The budget office warned that starting next year net interest costs will be larger as a share of the US economy than at any time since the federal government started keeping records in 1940.
“Also boosting deficits are two underlying trends: the aging of the population and growth in federal health care costs per beneficiary,” Swagel stated. “Those trends put upward pressure on mandatory spending.”
The US exceeded its debt ceiling, which was legally set at $31.4 trillion, in January 2023. After months of warnings of an imminent and economically disastrous default from the US Treasury, President Joe Biden in June signed a bipartisan debt bill that suspended the cap until January 2025. This effectively allowed the government to keep borrowing without limits through next year. Debt spiked to $32 trillion less than two weeks after the bill was approved, and has been piling up ever since.
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Trump Could Force Ukraine to Make Peace – MSM
Republican presidential frontrunner and ex-US leader Donald Trump is planning to pressure Ukraine to negotiate peace with Russia if he wins an expected rematch against incumbent Joe Biden for the White House, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing sources.
Should Trump become president, he may also retract a number of defense commitments to some NATO allies, according to reports.
People familiar with the matter said Trump advisers had talked about ways of bringing Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and his Russian counterpart to the negotiating table shortly after the potential inauguration.
One adviser, according to Bloomberg, suggested that Washington could push Kiev to engage with Moscow by threatening to cut massive military assistance, adding that Russia could be swayed by the threat of increasing that aid instead.
Bloomberg sources also stressed that Trump aides had not discussed the matter with Russian officials, as it would be illegal for private US entities to negotiate with foreign governments on behalf of the administration.
Russian officials have repeatedly said they are open to talks with Ukraine, but noted that any dialogue would take place only after Zelensky cancels his decree banning negotiations with the current leadership in Moscow. The Ukrainian leader introduced the ban last autumn after four of Kiev’s former regions overwhelmingly voted to join Russia.
Another facet of Trump’s presumed foreign policy appears to be a concept of “a two-tiered NATO alliance” in which a common defense clause would be applied only to those nations that had reached a certain defense-spending threshold, Bloomberg reported, adding that no final decision had been made on the matter.
Still, the agency noted that such an approach could “upend decades of US policy” while risking “fracturing” the defense alliance.
During his term as president, Trump repeatedly pushed NATO countries to increase military spending to 2% of GDP, a threshold many have struggled to reach. As of July, only 11 NATO members had met or exceeded that level.
Bloomberg’s report came after Trump claimed last week that, while in office, he had threatened not to defend those ‘delinquent’ NATO members that did not pay their fair share of defense spending if they were attacked by Russia. His remarks triggered condemnation both from the White House and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Moscow has repeatedly said it has no plans or interest in attacking the US-led military bloc.
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Canada, Australia, New Zealand Urge Israel to Nix Plans for Rafah Ground Offensive
The prime ministers of Canada, Australia and New Zealand issued a a joint statement on Thursday urging Israel not to commence its planned offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah and warning of catastrophic consequences for Palestinians of expanding the Israeli military operation.
“We are gravely concerned by indications that Israel is planning a ground offensive into Rafah. A military operation into Rafah would be catastrophic. About 1.5 million Palestinians are taking refuge in the area, including many of our citizens and their families. With the humanitarian situation in Gaza already dire, the impacts on Palestinian civilians from an expanded military operation would be devastating. We urge the Israeli government not to go down this path,” Australia’s Anthony Albanese, Canada’s Justin Trudeau and Christopher Luxon of New Zealand said in the statement.
The three prime ministers also reminded Israel of the recent ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) under which the nation is obliged to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and protect civilians. The need for humanitarian assistance in the Palestinian enclave “has never been greater,” the statement read.
“Australia, Canada, and New Zealand remain steadfast in their commitment to a two-state solution, including the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, where Palestinians and Israelis live side by side in peace, security, and dignity,” the prime ministers added.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a large-scale attack on Israel, killing 1,200 people and abducting over 200. The attack prompted a retaliatory military operation by Israel, leading to the deaths of more than 28,500 people in the Gaza Strip, according to local authorities.
In November 2023, Qatar mediated a deal between Israel and Hamas on a temporary truce and the exchange of some of the prisoners and hostages, as well as the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza. The ceasefire expired on December 1, 2023, after several extensions. More than 100 hostages are still believed to be held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
In January 2024, the ICJ ruled on provisional measures in South Africa’s case against Israel over alleged genocide in the Gaza Strip. The court ordered Israel to take urgent measures to prevent acts of genocide and ensure the flow of humanitarian aid to the enclave. At the same time, the ICJ did not order an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
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House Probing Whether Biden Raided Grandkids’ Bank Accounts In ‘Unusual’ Money Transfers
New evidence in the House GOP’s ongoing efforts to get to the bottom of the Biden family’s tangled web of payments and bank accounts have uncovered new evidence suggesting money transfers to President Joe Biden from his grandchildren, Just the News reports.
“In one of the interviews — that we haven’t I don’t believe disclose the transcript yet — the witness made reference to an account we didn’t know about. We’re researching that account,” House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer told Just the News, No Noise, adding that the information may eventually lead Congress to subpoena Biden’s personal bank and credit card records.
“They also said that that account could have possibly been paid with some infusion from the grandchildren.“
According to Comer, the flow of money from a grandchild to a grandfather would be unusual, if true.
“Now, I don’t know about you. But I don’t know anyone in the world whose grandchildren have ever deposited money into a savings account for their elderly grandfather,” said Comer. “But now, maybe I’m wrong. But that’s something we’re certainly looking into.”
Comer wouldn’t go into who the witness was, however another Congressional insider told the outlet that it came from a longtime Hunter Biden business associate. The same source said they expected the transcript of the interview to be released later this week or early next week.
In recent weeks the Committe has made progress interviewing a laundry list of Biden associates:
Comer’s committee has completed several closed-door interviews with Hunter Biden associates including energy executive Tony Bobulinski, Hollywood lawyer Kevin Morris, and Rosemont Seneca partners Devon Archer and Eric Schwerin. Bobulinski’s and Schwerin’s transcripts have not yet been released.
Emails on Hunter Biden’s abandoned laptop indicated Schwerin had access to some information about Joe Biden’s finances when he was vice president, including a tax refund from Delaware that was being routed from father to son.
Comer said his committee has begun to request access from banks and others to Joe Biden’s personal financial records and that lawmakers were prepared to obtain them by subpoena if necessary. -Just the News
According to former Biden associate Tony Bobulinksy, “Joe Biden was the brand” Hunter and pals were selling.
“We certainly have a lot of questions about he achieved how he (Joe Biden) accumulated so much wealth so quickly,” said Comer. “The public explanation behind that doesn’t add up with most people’s calculators. We’re certainly looking into some of these new accounts. We’ve requested some information, that you know is the first step in being able to successfully subpoena bank records. So stay tuned to that.”
Read the rest of the report here…
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Netanyahu Pulls Out of Talks Over ‘Delusional’ Hamas Demands, Hostage Families Stunned
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel has pulled out of talk with Hamas, and repeated the complaint that Hamas’ conditions for a possible ceasefire are “delusional”.
“Israel is holding out for Hamas to change its position before taking any further role in negotiations, the PM’s office said Wednesday,” Bloomberg reports.
The official statement reads: “Netanyahu insists that Israel will not give in to Hamas’s delusional demands.” His office stipulated that “A change in Hamas’s positions will allow the negotiations to advance.” Hamas has insisted that for a deal to proceed, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) would have to completely withdraw from the Gaza Strip first. The Israeli side has rejected the demand as a non-starter.
The Israeli delegation under Mossad intelligence chief David Barnea returned to Israel from talks in Egypt on Tuesday. This new development means Netanyahu is declaring he’s ‘done’ with the talks.
A group representing families of the remaining hostages has said it is “stunned” by Netanyahu’s pullout from negotiations. The Israeli PM reportedly didn’t want to send representatives to Cairo at all, but Israeli media says the Biden administration brought immense pressure to bear for him to do so.
Families of the hostages have also accused Netanyahu of actively ‘thwarting’ the negotiations, alleging he has an interest in keeping the war going for the sake of his own political survival. Part of the controversy too is that the mainstay of the peace plan was drawn up by Israel’s own Mossad spy agency, the Shin Bet security agency, and the IDF.
The New York Times on Wednesday says talks will now go to a “lower level” – but at the moment the reality seems that only the outside major powers serving as mediators are interested in pushing Hamas and Israel to the table, while the warring parties themselves aren’t interested:
Negotiations in Cairo over a possible agreement to pause the fighting in Gaza have been extended for another three days, according to an Egyptian official briefed on the talks, after a first day of high-level negotiations on Tuesday ended without an agreement.
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive negotiations, said the tenor of the talks was positive.
The talks over the next three days will involve lower-level officials, who will continue discussing a new framework for a deal, one that would ensure a certain number of hostages would be released and that the fighting would be halted for a certain number of weeks, a U.S. official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss diplomatic talks.
In the meantime, the assault on the southern city of Rafah, packed with some one million refugees, continues to escalate:
ISRAEL TO OPERATE IN RAFAH AFTER CIVILIANS ALLOWED TO LEAVE: PM
The Biden admin won’t punish Israel for a Rafah military operation that doesn’t protect civilians.
— POLITICO (@politico) February 13, 2024
Three U.S. officials told us no reprimand plans are in the works, meaning Israeli forces could harm civilians in the city with no American consequences. https://t.co/PRW7f5XyaS
NYT has summarized late-breaking developments Wednesday as follows:
- Cease-fire talks in Cairo will go on at a lower level, a U.S. official says.
- Fear of ‘a slaughter’ in Rafah build as negotiators race for a deal.
- A Hezbollah attack injures 2 Israelis as a push to reduce tensions intensifies.
- France imposes sanctions on West Bank settlers, joining the U.S. and Britain.
- South Africa asks the U.N.’s top court to act against Israel’s plans for Rafah.
- Israel orders an evacuation of the largest hospital in Khan Younis.
- A U.S. aid bill for Israel and Ukraine faces Republican opposition in the House.
The CIA’s William Burns is in Cairo representing the US, and he met Tuesday with Mossad’s Barnea as well as President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Qatar has continued to serve as indirect representative for Hamas.
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Lindsey Graham’s About-Face on Ukraine Shows GOP Patience With Kiev Regime Has Run Out
Graham, considered to be among the most “hawkish” lawmakers in Washington, may be counting on collapse in Ukraine to sink US President Joe Biden’s reelection chances.
Lindsey Graham (SC-R), long considered one of the US Senate’s foremost advocates of a muscular US foreign policy, raised eyebrows this week when he repeatedly voted against lethal aid for Ukraine and Israel.
Observers were surprised by the South Carolina lawmaker’s about-face on the issue given Graham was one of the lead negotiators on the compromise bill. Amidst concern over large numbers of migrants at the US’ southern border, grassroots conservatives have repeatedly argued that immigration reform is a more pressing concern than continued funding for foreign allies.
Lengthy discussions ensued early this year, wherein Graham worked with a bipartisan group of Senators to address border security concerns as part of the evolving foreign aid package. But in recent days, election year politics have apparently derailed the compromise legislation, with Trump-aligned Republicans seeking to deny Biden a perceived legislative victory with the passage of long-sought immigration reform.
But beyond the fickle vagaries of US politics another dynamic is at play, as even foreign policy “hawks” like Graham have come to realize that Ukraine’s US-backed proxy war against Russia has failed.
The effort’s defeat on the battlefield has long been apparent, with last year’s vaunted Ukrainian “counteroffensive” in the Donbas failing to make headway against Russian forces. Even US media outlets have struggled to positively portray the Ukrainian military’s declining fortunes.
But more recently, the US proxy conflict has suffered political failure as well.
“I talked to President [Donald] Trump today and he’s dead set against this [foreign aid] package,” Graham explained Sunday. “He thinks that we should make packages like this a loan, not a gift.”
The capitulation of Graham, who less than a year ago insisted US President Joe Biden should redouble efforts to assist embattled Ukrainian President Voloydymyr Zelensky during a visit to Kiev, suggests a seismic shift is underway concerning US support for Ukraine, and perhaps US foreign policy as a whole.
Former President Trump rode to victory in 2016 in part on his “America First” platform promising a focus on domestic concerns rather than foreign wars. Trump harshly criticized the Republican-led Iraq War, even amidst sharp criticism from the GOP establishment and mainstream US media. Amidst weariness over the US’ years-long military engagement in the Middle East, the message resounded with voters.
Now, as Democratic President Joe Biden presides over US-backed conflicts in Ukraine and Israel, anti-war sentiment has again coalesced behind Trump’s MAGA movement.
“Going against Trump [on Ukraine funding] right now is a death sentence,” remarked one anonymous Republican lawmaker, emphasizing the political shift within the grassroots of the party against support for Kiev. The new conservative foreign policy paradigm has threatened to undermine NATO as well, with Trump insisting European countries should contribute more of their own funds towards the US-led military alliance.
But American neoconservatives are not the only ones facing political rejection recently. President Zelensky faces his own crisis, with prominent figures inside and outside of his government signaling increasing opposition to his failing war effort. Observers speculate a palace coup is imminent as the Ukrainian leader scrambles to remove opposition within his cabinet.
The Washington Post’s displeasure over Senator Graham’s political change of heart is not surprising, given the outlet’s owner Jeff Bezos is one of the US Central Intelligence Agency’s largest contractors. But with even Graham apparently recognizing that Russia’s victory is only a matter of time, Langley may face few options beyond scolding lawmakers through its media mouthpieces.
Republicans, meanwhile, seem ready to run against President Biden amidst crises at both the US’ southern border and in Kiev.
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