{"id":15097700,"date":"2026-04-03T12:59:34","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T16:59:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/trump-budget-seeks-1-5t-in-defense-spending-alongside-cuts-in-domestic-programs\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T13:00:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T17:00:16","slug":"trump-budget-seeks-1-5t-in-defense-spending-alongside-cuts-in-domestic-programs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/trump-budget-seeks-1-5t-in-defense-spending-alongside-cuts-in-domestic-programs\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump budget seeks $1.5T in defense spending alongside cuts in domestic programs"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump<\/a> has proposed boosting defense spending to $1.5 trillion in his 2027 budget released Friday, the largest such request in decades, reflecting his emphasis on U.S. military investments over domestic programs.<\/p>\n

The sizable increase for the Pentagon had been telegraphed by the Republican president even before the the U.S.-led war against Iran<\/a>. The president’s plan would also reduce spending on non-defense programs by 10% by shifting some responsibilities to state and local governments.<\/p>\n

\u201cPresident Trump is committed to rebuilding our military to secure peace through strength,\u201d the budget said.<\/p>\n

The president\u2019s annual budget is considered a reflection of the administration\u2019s values and does not carry the force of law. The massive document typically highlights an administration\u2019s priorities, but Congress, which handles federal spending issues, is free to reject it and often does.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s White House document, prepared by Budget Director Russ Vought<\/a>, is intended to provide a road map from the president to Congress as lawmakers build their own budgets and annual appropriations bills to keep the government funded. Vought spoke to House GOP lawmakers on a private call Thursday.<\/p>\n

Trump, speaking ahead of an address to the nation<\/a> this week about the Iran war, signaled the military is his priority, setting up a clash ahead in Congress.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re fighting wars. We can\u2019t take care of day care,\u201d Trump said at a private White House event Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not possible for us to take care of day care, Medicaid, Medicare \u2014 all these individual things,\u201d he said. \u201cThey can do it on a state basis. You can\u2019t do it on a federal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Immigration enforcement, air traffic controllers and national parks<\/h4>\n

Among the budget priorities the White House called for:<\/p>\n

-Supporting the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement and deportation operations by eliminating refugee resettlement aid programs, maintaining Immigration and Customs Enforcement funds at current year levels and drawing on last’s year’s increases for the Department of Homeland Security funds to continue opening detention facilities, including 100,000 beds for adults and 30,000 for families.<\/p>\n

— A 13% increase in funding for the Department of Justice, which the White House said would be focused on violent criminals.<\/p>\n

— A $10 billion fund within the National Park Service for beautification projects in Washington, D.C..<\/p>\n

— A $481 million increase in funding to enhance aviation safety and support an air traffic controller hiring surge.<\/p>\n

With the nation running nearly $2 trillion annual deficits<\/a> and the debt swelling past $39 trillion<\/a>, the federal balance sheets have long been operating in the red.<\/p>\n

About two-thirds of the nation’s estimated $7 trillion in annual spending covers the Medicare and Medicaid health care programs, as well as Social Security income, which are essentially growing<\/a> \u2014 along with an aging population \u2014 on autopilot.<\/p>\n

The rest of the annual budget has typically been more evenly split between defense and domestic accounts, nearly $1 trillion each, which is where much of the debate in Congress<\/a> takes place.<\/p>\n

The GOP’s big tax breaks bill<\/a> that Trump signed into law<\/a> last year boosted his priorities beyond the budget process \u2014 with at least $150 billion for the Pentagon over the next several years, and $170 billion for Trump\u2019s immigration and deportation operations<\/a> at the Department of Homeland Security.<\/p>\n

The administration is counting on its allies in the Republican-led Congress to again push the president\u2019s priorities, particularly the Defense Department spending, through its own budget process, as it was able to do last year.<\/p>\n

It suggests $1.1 trillion for defense would come through the regular appropriations process, which typically requires support from both parties for approval, while $350 billion would come through the budget reconciliation process that Republicans can accomplish on their own, through party-line majority votes.<\/p>\n

Congress still fighting over 2026 spending<\/h4>\n

The president’s budget arrives as the House and Senate remain tangled over current-year spending and stalemated over DHS funding,<\/a> with Democrats demanding changes to Trump\u2019s immigration enforcement regime that Republicans are unwilling to accept.<\/p>\n

Trump announced Thursday he would sign an executive order to pay all DHS workers who have gone without paychecks during the record-long partial government shutdown<\/a> that has reached 49 days. The Republican leadership in Congress reached an agreement<\/a> this week on a path forward to fund the department, but lawmakers are away<\/a> on spring break and have not yet voted on any new legislation.<\/p>\n

Last year, in the president’s first budget since returning to the White House<\/a>, Trump sought to fulfill his promise to vastly reduce the size and scope of the federal government, reflecting the efforts of billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As DOGE slashed through federal offices and Vought sought to claw back funds, Congress did not always agree.<\/p>\n

For example, Trump sought a roughly one-fifth decrease in non-defense spending for the current budget year ending Sept. 30, but Congress kept such spending relatively flat.<\/p>\n

Some of the programs that Trump tried to eliminate entirely, such as assisting families with their energy costs, got a slight uptick in funding. Others got flat funding, such as the Community Development Block Grants that states and local communities use to fund an array of projects intended mostly to help low-income communities through new parks, sewer systems and affordable housing.<\/p>\n

Lawmakers have also focused on ensuring the administration spends federal dollars as directed by Congress. This year\u2019s spending bills contained what Sen. Patty Murray, the ranking Democratic member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, described as \u201chundreds upon hundreds of specific funding levels and directives\u201d that the administration is required to follow.<\/p>\n

Source: News \u2013 Boston \u2013 whdh<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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