Defense spending gets big boost in first Trump budget

One day before he makes his first address to a joint session of Congress, President Donald Trump announced a broad plan for his first budget. Trump wants to increase defense spending by 10 percent, about $54 billion. The president plans to make up for the increase by cutting budgets in other departments. Those cuts likely would total about 10 percent for every other federal spending program, according to an Office of Management and Budget administration official. Trump suggested foreign aid would see significant cuts, but since that’s one of the smallest line items in the federal budget, the president will have to extend budget slashing to other areas. “We are going to do more with less and make the government lean and accountable to the people,” Trump said in a White House statement. “We can do so much more with the money we spend.” Trump and congressional leaders will work out the budget details in the coming months. The next fiscal year starts Oct. 1.