Donald Trump
President Trump unveiled a $1.15 trillion budget blueprint Thursday, with a top aide saying that Americans who backed him got “exactly what they voted for” — big hikes in defense spending and deep cuts to domestic programs.
“The president is absolutely going to keep his promises made on the campaign trail,” Budget Director Mick Mulvaney said during the daily White House press briefing.
Trump’s message to Congress, he added, is that he wants money spent on the things that are important to him, such as a strong military, tough border controls and anti-terrorism.
The plan calls for a $54 billion hike in military spending and an increase of $2.8 billion for Homeland Security, which includes $4.1 billion through 2018 for a Mexican border wall.
At the same time, it slices the State Department by 28 percent, although Mulvaney said those cuts would be in foreign aid, not diplomatic efforts or personnel.
The president’s first spending plan also drastically slashes the Environmental Protection Agency, FEMA and the Agriculture and Labor departments, while eliminating federal funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Funding EPA research into climate change would be eliminated entirely, Mulvaney said.
“We are not spending money on climate change anymore. We view it as a waste of your money . . . We can’t spend money on programs just because they sound good. We’re $20 trillion in debt,” the former South Carolina congressman said.
Asked about eliminating the $3 billion Community Development Block Grant program — which many states use for anti-poverty programs such as Meals on Wheels for seniors — Mulvaney said struggling Americans shouldn’t have to pay for programs “not showing any results.”
“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,” he said.
Trump, he said, did not owe lobbyists or special interests anything, and his “America First” proposal reflected that.
“The president is beholden to none of that. The president has drafted a budget for the entire nation because that’s who he sees himself as representing. He did not ask lobbyists for input on this. He did not ask special interests for input.”
Democrats, including New York Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, slammed the plan.
Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) offered lukewarm support, while other top Republicans said Trump’s budget stood little, if any, chance of passage as is.
“It is clear that this budget proposed today cannot pass the Senate,” Arizona Sen. John McCain said.
And Florida Sen. Marco Rubio declared, “The administration’s budget isn’t going to be the budget. We do the budget here. The administration makes recommendations, but Congress does budgets.”
Trump’s plan also includes three federal fee hikes, including one to file for bankruptcy that would generate $150 million in new revenue.
The $5.60 fee imposed on airline passengers to cover TSA security operations would rise by $1.
The budget would also double fees the FDA charges companies when they seek reviews of their medical products before they can go on the market.
which controls the government’s purse strings.
Trump will next present a full budget to Congress, and the House and Senate will follow up with separate budget resolutions.
House and Senate Appropriations subcommittees will debate and amend appropriations bills, and both chambers will vote on the bills and reconcile differences.
Trump would then either sign or veto each of 12 appropriations bills. The deadline is Oct. 1, the start of the federal fiscal year, but that deadline is not always met.
The full budget plan will also include economic forecasts and the president’s views on “mandatory entitlements” like Social Security and Medicare, which Trump has vowed to protect.
Mulvaney acknowledged that passing the cuts could be an uphill struggle and said the administration would negotiate.
“This is not a take-it-or-leave-it budget,” he said.
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