Republicans are expected to renew their opposition to deficits and increases in federal spending if Joe Biden is sworn in as president in January, especially if the Democratic administration is paired with a GOP-controlled Senate as expected.

But with the federal budget deficit reaching an unprecedented $3.7 trillion under President Trump, Democrats are likely to point out that GOP deficit hawks fly south for the winter when Republicans are in office. Even before the pandemic and when unemployment was still only 3.5%, the deficit was expected to exceed $1 trillion — an amount almost universally deemed unacceptable by congressional Republicans when Barack Obama was president. Biden, who served as vice president under Obama, has, by some estimates, proposed $5 trillion in new spending.