Well, this was unexpected, but it's good news all the same. The monthly federal Treasury Report for June showed us something we're not used to seeing: A surplus. Oh, we're still in the red for the fiscal year, but this is a welcome step in the right direction and much of the surplus for that one month was due to tariffs.
On Friday, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent took to X to spread the word.
Another promise made. Another promise kept.
— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) July 11, 2025
Our nation is reaping the rewards from @POTUS’s America First agenda.
As President Trump works hard to take back our nation’s economic sovereignty, today’s Monthly Treasury Statement is demonstrating record customs duties – and with… https://t.co/LN4HI66jJg
The post continues:
As President Trump works hard to take back our nation’s economic sovereignty, today’s Monthly Treasury Statement is demonstrating record customs duties – and with no inflation!
A Friday piece on CNBC has the numbers:
The U.S. government posted a surplus in June as tariffs gave an extra bump to a sharp increase in receipts, the Treasury Department said Friday.
With government red ink swelling throughout the year, last month saw a surplus of just over $27 billion, following a $316 billion deficit in May.
That brought the fiscal year-to-date deficit to $1.34 trillion, up 5% from a year ago. However, with calendar adjustment, the deficit actually edged lower by 1%. There are three months left in the current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.
A 13% increase in receipts from the same month a year ago helped bridge the gap, with outlays down 7%. For the year, receipts are up 7% while spending has risen 6%.
Note that first sentence: "... tariffs gave an extra bump to a sharp increase in receipts." So the surplus was in part due to the tariffs, but not only due to the tariffs.
While this is great, and while this should also silence some critics of the administration's tariff policies, we still have a long way to go to recover from decades of deficit spending and debt accumulation.
Serving the debt alone is a major expense; that means, just paying the interest, not reducing the principal.
Net interest on the $36 trillion national debt totaled $84 billion in June, down slightly from May but still higher than any other category with the exception of Social Security. For the year, net interest — what Treasury pays on the debt it issues minus what it earns on investments — is at $749 billion. Total interest payments are projected at $1.2 trillion for the full fiscal year.
If June is any indicator, if we can just close that gap between income and spending, it is - at least - a start.
See Also: Crunch Time: Trump to Send Out 'Take It or Leave It' Tariff Letters Monday to a Dozen Countries
Much will depend on who's correct in their estimations of the economic impact of the One Big Beautiful Bill, which was just signed into law last week, and which has not yet taken full effect. If the Trump team's estimates are correct, the OBBB will spur growth, and it would have to spur growth in the private sector the likes of which we've never seen, to close this gap. However, if there's one thing we've seen from this second Trump administration, it's been a lot of "...the likes of which we've never seen."
Let's hope the Trump team is correct.
At this stage in the game, there's no reason to get too happy about all this. But it's good news, all the same - now, to see if we can sustain it. Then we might really be going somewhere.
Editor's Note: President Trump is leading America into the "Golden Age" as Democrats try desperately to stop it.
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