The legislation that Republicans are trying to push through Congress could swell the very fiscal imbalance that party leaders have promised to tame for years.
The question of whether the nation can afford to remain on its current path is complicating the White House’s efforts to nail down support for President Trump’s legislation.
President Trump and his allies have united around a new foe: the economists and budget experts who have warned about the costs of Republicans’ tax ambitions.
President Trump’s allies were trying to discredit the findings of experts even before the new forecast that their signature legislation would add $2.4 trillion to the federal debt.