This was the biggest October budget deficit on record, surpassing even the 2020 covid firehose

(Reuters) -The U.S. government posted a higher $284 billion deficit for October in a report delayed and impacted by the recent federal government shutdown and reflecting record tariff revenues offset by a shift of some November benefit payments into last month’s data, the Treasury Department said on Tuesday.

The budget results for the first month of the 2026 fiscal year were delayed by a 43-day shutdown of many federal agencies, which caused delays of some payments, such as for salaries of government employees, a Treasury official said.

The deficit last month was up $27 billion, or 10%, from the $257 billion deficit posted in October 2024, largely due to the shift of some $105 billion worth of November benefit outlays for some military and healthcare programs into October.

https://money.usnews.com/investing/news/articles/2025-11-25/us-posts-284-billion-october-budget-deficit-report-impacted-by-shutdown

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