The White House’s budget plan is frequently subject to significant modifications by lawmakers. However, Trump has extraordinary influence over this Republican-controlled Congress and might achieve a lot of his goals.
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday suggested cutting $163 billion in government expenditure for the upcoming year, which would eliminate over a fifth of non-military spending, excluding obligatory benefit programs.
Compared to 2025 approved levels, the proposed budget would increase homeland security spending by about 65% and defense spending by 13%. The White House Office of Management and Budget said in a statement that discretionary expenditure on non-defense would be reduced by 23 percent to the lowest level since 2017.
The administration’s priorities are outlined in the so-called skinny budget, which will serve as a guide for Republican appropriators in Congress as they start drafting spending bills.
Trump’s first budget since taking office aims to fulfill his pledges to reduce federal bureaucracy and increase spending on border security and the military.
“At this critical moment, we need a historic budget—one that ends the funding of our decline, puts Americans first, and delivers unprecedented support to our military and homeland security,” Russ Vought, the OMB Director, stated in the statement.
Some fiscal conservatives and budget experts are concerned that Trump’s tax-cut measure will increase the federal government’s already mounting debt of $36 trillion without enacting enough expenditure cutbacks.
The 2017 tax cuts, which were Trump’s biggest legislative accomplishment during his first term, are being extended by the Republican-controlled Congress, which could increase the national debt by $5 trillion, according to nonpartisan forecasters.
Economic projections and specific recommendations for the amount of money that each government agency should spend for the fiscal year beginning on October 1 are included in the White House’s yearly budget request. According to the Congressional Budget Office, spending in fiscal 2024 totaled $6.8 trillion.
The White House’s budget plan is frequently subject to significant modifications by lawmakers. However, Trump has extraordinary influence over this Republican-controlled Congress and might achieve a lot of his goals.
Republicans in Congress are attempting to resolve internal disagreements over proposed reductions in federal spending in order to pass the tax reform bill by July 4. They might need to account for the mounting strain on the American economy brought on by Trump’s tariff increases, which are disrupting international trade.
According to OMB, the budget proposal maintains money for low-income children while fulfilling Trump’s pledge to close or significantly reduce the U.S. Department of Education.
The Senate’s leading Democrat, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, declared in a statement that “Donald Trump’s days of pretending to be a populist are over”.” His plans are an outright attack on Americans who work hard. He is funding tax incentives for millionaires and large businesses while destroying healthcare, cutting education, and dismantling programs that families depend on.
In order to support Trump’s push for mass deportations and strengthen border security, the White House budget proposes an additional $500 million in discretionary spending. Additionally, $766 million will be used to purchase border security technology, maintain 22,000 Border Patrol Agents, and hire more Customs and Border Patrol officers.
