"Why the Federal Deficit is rising, despite economic growth" PBS NewsHour 10/18/2018

IMHO:  This is a 'duh' question.  Answer, Republican Tax Cuts.

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  With the close of the government's fiscal year, numbers out this week show the federal budget deficit taking a 17 percent jump from 2017, despite significant economic growth.  John Yang takes a closer look into the data and speaks with political correspondent Lisa Desjardins, and David Wessel director of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at the Brookings Institution, for analysis.