Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the United States could grow its way out of debt if annual economic growth reaches 3% while spending is contained. The national debt has recently exceeded $40 trillion, while the annual fiscal deficit (the gap between government spending and revenue) is projected to surpass $2 trillion by Sept. 30. Bessent said he is working with Office of Management and Budget director Russ Vought on fiscal consolidation (plans to reduce government borrowing), while preferring not to rush the effort through a lame-duck Congress if Democrats regain one or both chambers in the midterm elections. He also cited manufacturing investment linked to last year's major tax law, including expansions by Pepsi, Winnebago and Boeing. Bessent said the Supreme Court's decision to strike down President Trump's Liberation Day tariffs deprived the government of $180 billion that could have been used to reduce the deficit. As an interim measure, he backed more long-term Treasury bond buybacks (repurchases of government debt), saying they could improve market liquidity. He also said current interest rates are unusually correlated with energy prices and predicted that relationship could weaken as oil supplies expand over the next year or two, including through the US relationship with Venezuela and normalization in the Middle East.