President Trump recently signed an Executive Order to create a United States Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF). What is a SWF, and why do countries and American states form them?

As Congress navigates the task of reducing the federal budget deficit, the national debt stands at over $36 trillion, with an annual budget deficit of $711 billion. In this brief, we focus on Republican proposals for substantial deficit reduction. We also consider potential opposition within the party to these measures. Our next brief on major spending cuts will focus on proposals from Democrat legislators.

Republican legislators, now fully in control of both chambers of Congress, are set on making good on campaign promises to reign in federal spending. Over the next few months, Everything Policy will analyze deficit reduction proposals from both parties, offering a facts-first analysis of expected savings and real-world impacts. This first brief shows how the budgeting process used by Congress can work against building partisan consensus around deficit reduction.