Bessent Says Deficit Plan Could Rush Through Lame Duck if GOP Loses Chamber

07:36 PM EDT, 09/08/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Trump administration would push to pass a plan through Congress to lower the federal budget deficit by the end of the year if Democrats flip either chamber in the November midterms, Bloomberg reported Tuesday. Bessent said he is working with OMB Director Russ Vought on a fiscal consolidation plan aimed at reducing the deficit, according to the report. If Democrats win control of either chamber, Bessent said the administration "would have to rush that through a lame duck" session - the roughly two-month window between the November 3 elections and when new members of Congress are seated on January 3, 2027, the report said. Bessent has not disclosed many details of the plan, including whether it would involve cuts to programs like Medicare and Social Security or tax increases, according to Bloomberg. The US is on track to spend nearly $2 trillion more than it collects in revenue this year, according to the Congressional Budget Office, the report said.