U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday asked his cabinet departments to propose a 5 percent spending cut next year after the U.S. budget deficit rose to a six-year high.
"I'm going to ask each of you to come back with a 5 percent budget cut from your various departments, whether it's a secretary, an administrator, whatever," Trump told reporters prior to a cabinet meeting at the White House.
"I think you'll all be able to do it. There may be a special exemption perhaps," he said.
Trump's remarks came after the government reported that the budget deficit rose to 779 billion U.S. dollars in the fiscal year 2018 ending Sept. 30, the highest since 2012.
Analysts said the administration's tax cut and increased government spending have contributed to the rise of budget deficit in Trump's first full fiscal year as U.S. president.
Kevin Hassett, chairman of the White House's Council of Economic Advisers, said last week that the Trump administration would unveil measures soon to address the federal government's big budget deficit.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has warned that growing budget deficits would boost U.S. public debt sharply over the next 30 years if current laws generally remained unchanged.
The public debt could approach 100 percent of U.S. GDP by the end of the next decade and 152 percent by 2048, reaching the highest level in the U.S. history, according to the CBO.
