Trump’s budget has big cuts, boosts military

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump released his first budget outline today, asking for significant cuts to federal agencies and increased spending on military and border security.

“I submit to the Congress this budget blueprint to reprioritize federal spending so that it advances the safety and security of the American people,” Trump wrote to introduce the budget document. “A budget that puts America first must make the safety of our people its number one priority—because without safety, there can be no prosperity.”

Trump’s budget proposal asks for $1.1 trillion in discretionary spending. It increases outlays to the Defense Department by $54 billion, boosts Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security funding, and cuts from just about everything else. The plan outlines substantial cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency by laying off more than 3,000 positions, eliminates funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the National Endowment for the Arts, and cuts $10 billion from the State Department. Most conservatives praised Trump’s blueprint, but some warned he would have to change his mind on Social Security and Medicare if he was serious about balancing the budget one day.

“The next step is the president is going to need to realize we need to make some major reforms to entitlement spending,” said Rep. Raúl Labrador, R-Idaho. “If the goal is to balance the budget, he will eventually realize he can’t do it just by cutting discretionary spending.”

The president promised on the campaign trail he would maintain current federal deficit levels while cutting taxes, increasing defense spending, and keeping entitlements intact. Each year, the government allocates $2.5 trillion for so-called mandatory spending such as Social Security and Medicare, and Trump’s budget plan does not touch any of it.

Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., said today he thought Trump would be open to talking about reforming entitlement programs but now believes conservatives will have to work to get cooperation from the White House.

“I brought up entitlement reform to the president a week or so ago, and the pushback was a little stronger than I expected,” Meadows said. “It’s going to take a lot more encouragement in terms of actually tackling entitlement reform.”

The budget plan Trump released today is not binding but sets the target spending levels for various government agencies. A continuing resolution passed in December will fund the government through the end of April. After that, lawmakers will have to pass a spending bill for the rest of fiscal year 2017, which ends Oct. 1, before they tackle a budget for 2018.

A simple majority vote in the House can pass spending legislation, but 60 members need to support it in the Senate to break a filibuster.

Labrador said Trump’s plan to pay for larger military outlays by making significant cuts to other discretionary programs is the right idea but is not passable in the Senate, where Republicans have a 52-48 vote advantage.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced Democrats would oppose the plan shortly after Trump unveiled it.

“The very programs that most help the middle class are those that get clobbered the hardest: Investments in infrastructure, education, scientific research that leads to cures for diseases all take big hits,” Schumer said in a statement. “Democrats in Congress will emphatically oppose these cuts and urge our Republican colleagues to reject them, as well.”

Conservative advocacy groups had positive reactions to the budget proposal.

Heritage Action said it sent the right message to voters who supported Trump by reining in government spending. Club for Growth released a statement today saying the budget proposal makes progress in reducing the size and scope of federal government.

Office of Management and Budget director Mick Mulvaney, who was the chief architect of the budget plan, explained on MSNBC’s Morning Joe the methodology used to set the spending targets.

“When you start looking at places that we reduce spending, one of the questions we asked was, ‘Can we really continue to ask a coal miner in West Virginia or a single mom in Detroit to pay for these programs?’ The answer was no,” Mulvaney said. “We can ask them to pay for defense, and we will, but we can’t ask them to continue to pay for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.”