Kudlow: Rising Deficit 'Coming Down Rapidly'

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Friday that the U.S. budget deficit is "coming down rapidly," despite data from the Treasury Department showing otherwise.

"As the economy gears up, more people working, better jobs and careers, those revenues come rolling in, and the deficit, which was one of the other criticisms, is coming down," Kudlow said during an interview on Fox Business Network. "And it's coming down rapidly."

Economist Stan Collender told The Washington Post that there is "no substantive justification whatsoever" for Kudlow's claim. "It absolutely qualifies as 'pants on fire.'"

According to the latest data from the Treasury Department, the deficit rose from $585 billion in 2016 to $666 billion in 2017, Trump's first year in office.

In May, the U.S. posted a deficit of $146.8 billion, 66 percent higher than a year before. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the deficit will reach $804 billion by 2018 and $981 billion in 2019.

"CBO anticipates that recent changes to the tax code, changes in discretionary spending, and continuing increases in aggregate demand will spur a pickup in the growth of real [gross domestic product] over the next few years," the report read, projecting that growth from tax cuts will peak in 2022.

"Thereafter, growth in real GDP is projected to make a transition to a pace that reflects the increases in the supply of labor, capital services, and productivity."

• Current Account Deficit Widens to 2.5 Percent of GDP
• US Posts $146.8 Billion May Deficit, Biggest Monthly Tally Since 2009