The "fiscal nightmare" (your phrasing) is the result of mandatory spending like Medicare, Social Security, interest on the debt, etc. Please educate yourself by understanding where the money actually goes:

https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/americas-finance-guide/feder...

https://usafacts.org/articles/this-chart-tells-you-everythin...

Even if you reduced the federal payroll to $0 tomorrow, you'd still be running deficit.