Feds spent $1 trillion last month

The federal government spent $1.1 trillion last month, shattering the record for the highest monthly spending ever, and sending the deficit soaring to $2.7 trillion so far this fiscal year, the Treasury Department reported Monday,

Before this year, the highest monthly total was $439.8 billion, spent last May.

But the last three months have easily topped that, totaling nearly $2.7 trillion in spending over just those three months along. As recently as 2006, the government spent less than that in the entire year.

The spending spree is due chiefly to the coronavirus pandemic, which has forced policymakers to tap the Treasury, borrowing deeply to pump cash into the economy. At the same time, the economic slump has dampened revenue, and the government has delayed some tax collections, further deepening the fiscal hole.