内容摘要：The federal deficit is how much more money the government spends than it brings in during a single year. A federal surplus would mean the US is bringing in more money than it is spending.

The federal deficit is how much more money the government spends than it brings in during a single year. A federal surplus would mean the US is bringing in more money than it is spending.

In 2023, for instance, it ruled that Lopez Obrador could not use "national security" as an excuse to fast-track the construction ofin the Yucatan Peninsula.

Barely a month later, it also struck down a bill Lopez Obrador backed that would have slashed the funding of the country'sIn response, Lopez Obrador criticised the judicial system for serving the interests of the political and economic elites.Daniela Arias, a coordinator for the pro-democracy think tank Laboratorio Electoral, remembers Lopez Obrador railing against the judges at his daily news briefings.

“The president's questions in his morning press conferences were: What legitimacy do these [judges] have, versus what the people decided at the polls? Why are they holding up my projects?” Arias said.With less than a month left in his presidency, Lopez Obrador decided to do something about his complaints. He pushed forward with his

long-desired reforms

to the judiciary — including the imposition of mandatory elections.To cover this deficit, the government borrows more money. To ensure that borrowing is subject to legislative approval, the US Congress sets a limit to how much the government can borrow to fund existing obligations like Social Security, healthcare and defence. This limit is known as the debt ceiling.

Once the ceiling is reached, the government cannot borrow more unless Congress raises or suspends the limit. Since 1960, Congress has raised, suspended or changed the terms of the debt ceiling 78 times, allowing the US to borrow more money.The federal deficit under different presidents

The federal deficit is how much more money the government spends than it brings in during a single year. A federal surplus would mean the US is bringing in more money than it is spending.The deficit grew sharply during Trump’s first term, especially in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the government spent heavily while tax revenues dropped due to job losses. That year, the deficit reached nearly 15 percent of the entire economy (GDP).