Washington ? The federal government is headed for a record $400 billion deficit this fiscal year, the product of a weak economy, the war in Iraq and a series of tax cuts, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office warned Tuesday.

The higher deficit projection was not completely unexpected after President Bush and Congress agreed to another round of tax cuts, which will cost the government $61 billion in foregone revenue this fiscal year alone. The fiscal year ends Sept 30.

If the latest projection proves correct, it will be the largest deficit the government has ever run in dollar terms and among the biggest as a fraction of the economy in the post-World War II era.

It would also mark the second straight year that Washington has run in the red, an abrupt reversal from the final term of the Clinton administration when the government ran four years of surpluses.

The new budget figures highlight the role-reversal for the political parties that has taken place. Republicans, long the champions of balanced budgets and fiscal conservatism, now defend the large deficits as necessary for reviving the economy, while Democrats attack them as reckless.

“It’s the right fiscal policy, given the challenges we face,” said Trent Duffy, White House budget office spokesman. “As a share of the economy, the deficit is still modest and manageable.”

Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., was just as direct. “The president has us on an utterly reckless course. Any time you’re running the biggest deficit in history by a long shot, you’ve got to be concerned.”