NYT slammed for using picture of Republicans in story heralding lower 2022 deficit — when Dems ran Congress

13 January 2023

The United States deficit dropped from $2.6 trillion to $1.4 trillion in 2022, the New York Times reports. Although the tremendous milestone was reached while the country was under Democratic leadership, the Times received backlash on Friday after the headline image accompanying its reporting featured a photo of Republican lawmakers instead of Democrats.

On Thursday, January 12, former Chicago Tribune editor Mark Jacob took to Twitter with a screenshot of the NYT report as he tweeted, "The New York Times runs a photo of McCarthy and other Republicans to accompany the positive news that the deficit was lower in 2022 — when Congress and the White House were run by Democrats, not by McCarthy and Republicans."

Others also lamented the Times' reporting. One user tweeted, "But isn’t that the usual MO? When things go well, GOP take wholly undeserved credit. When they eff things up, they blame Biden. And the glorified stenographers, pretending to be journalists, gladly play along to get along."

Another user added, "This is the @nytimes! A corrupt group and paper leading the narrative for the country! Grateful you are pointing this out! We need to call this stuff out EVERY TIME!"

According to the initial report, the U.S. Treasury Department has indicated that the change comes as pandemic-related emergency spending comes to a halt. "Other factors contributing to the deficit decline are the reopening of the economy reopened and a rise in tax revenue," the Times reports.

The story continued:

"While the annual gap between what the nation spends and what it takes in narrowed, the monthly deficit for December 2022 widened compared with a year ago, suggesting that the deficit will most likely grow again in the year to come. The federal government recorded an $85 billion shortfall last month, up from a $21 billion deficit in December 2021."

The figures released on Thursday come as Republicans assumed the House of Representatives, vowing to advocate for deep budget cuts to key programs.

"Despite the smaller annual shortfall, America’s long-term fiscal picture has darkened somewhat in the last year," the news outlet reported. "The national debt topped $31 trillion for the first time in 2022 and interest rates are rising, increasing the amount of money the United States must pay to investors who buy its debt."

However, the Times also pointed out that Republican lawmakers' prioritized initiatives would actually add to deficit.

"Republicans have also prioritized policies this month that would add to deficits," the Times reports. "The House passed legislation this week that would rescind much of the $80 billion that was allocated to the Internal Revenue Service last year to beef up its enforcement capacity. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said that the Republican bill to cut the money would actually increase the deficit by $114 billion through 2032."

In wake of the Republicans' announcement of the initiatives, President Joe Biden expressed concern and vowed to veto efforts that would add to the deficit.

“I was disappointed that the very first bill the Republicans in the House of Representatives passed would help wealthy people and big corporations cheat on their taxes at the expense of ordinary, middle-class taxpayers,” Biden told reporters. “And it would add $114 billion to the deficit. Their very first bill.”

Maya MacGuineas, the president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, also echoed concerns over spending.

“We should not be borrowing $4 billion a day, an apparent debt addiction that is harmful to the economy and the budget,” said MacGuineas. “We hear a lot of talk about fiscal responsibility, but very little action.”

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