Ninety state officials urged President Trump and Congress to tackle the national debt crisis in a Thursday letter – warning of “a painful age of reckoning” if nothing is done, The Post has learned.
State treasurers and lawmakers from states including Arizona, Pennsylvania and Texas, as well as Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, noted in the missive that national debt already tops $38 trillion.
The letter demanded that Trump and members of Congress approve a plan by July 4, 2026 – the nation’s 250th anniversary – to put the federal government on track to reach a balanced budget.
“Without a decisive change in course, we will not only face a very painful day of reckoning, but a painful age of reckoning we never want to see,” the officials, mostly from red states, wrote in a copy of the letter obtained by The Post.
“Younger citizens of our states need a solid runway to prepare for changes, while our oldest and most vulnerable citizens need assurances.”
The White House did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
In the letter, the signatories also urged Trump to “[cut] red tape and [tap] into our nation’s vast natural resources.”
They said he should roll back “the costly and burdensome requirements that accompany federal funds sent to states.”
While the officials commended the work of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, a cost-cutting agency that slashed thousands of federal roles, they called on Trump to take more aggressive action.
“The federal government caused this crisis, and then ignored the crisis as it got worse, so now the states are sounding the alarm and demanding a new direction,” OJ Oleka, chief executive of the State Financial Officers Foundation, told The Post in a statement.
“Fortunately, we currently have a president for whom taking bold action to solve big problems is second nature.”
The letter warned that US debt could lead to the collapse of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
Social Security trust funds could become insolvent by 2033, resulting in a more than 20% reduction or $16,500 decrease in benefits on average per couple, the letter stated, citing the Congressional Budget Office.
The letter came as Trump has been floating the idea of $2,000 tariff “dividend” checks for most Americans, even as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has tried to throw cold water on the idea.
The president has said the checks will be funded by revenue from levies on many imports. But the payout comes with an estimated $600 billion price tag – twice the revenue expected from tariffs, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
