The federal budget deficit was $198 billion in August, the Congressional Budget Office projected on Wednesday, bringing the deficit for the first 11 months of the 2020 fiscal year to $3 trillion.
The CBO reiterated its projection for a full year deficit of $3.3 trillion, or 16% of the size of the economy — the highest level since 1945.
The chart below shows the effect of coronavirus spending on the deficit this year compared to 2019.