Trump $2.2 trillion budget pairs defense boost, agency cuts

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump asked Congress to enact a $2.2 trillion budget for discretionary programs, seeking a massive increase in defense spending, while also renewing his push for steep cuts to domestic agencies.

The 2027 budget proposal released on Friday requests $1.5 trillion for defense, a significant increase over the $1 trillion sought for fiscal year 2026. The new figure includes $1.1 trillion in base discretionary spending for the Department of Defense and another $350 billion in mandatory spending. The Office of Management and Budget is also still reviewing a potential $200 billion Pentagon supplemental package for the current fiscal year that would be on top of Friday’s request as the US carries out its war in Iran.

Discretionary non-defense spending would be cut 10%, or about $73 billion, according to the White House.

The president’s decision to seek a dramatic rise in the Pentagon’s budget — the largest single-year increase since World War II — comes as polls indicate he’s struggling to convince many Americans of the wisdom of the war in Iran.

In a departure from decades of practice, the budget did not include 10-year projections for the spending plan’s impact on future deficits, leaving those to an obscure release later in the year. That’s in part because the budget doesn’t account for entitlement spending like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid — the three biggest drivers of future deficits.

The White House budget includes $65.8 billion for shipbuilding, 85 new F-35 fighter jets from Lockheed Martin Corp., and a pay raise for troops. Enlisted personnel up to the rank of an Army staff sergeant would get a 7% raise, while top officers would get a 5% increase.

The Trump budget accomplishes that through $350 billion in mandatory spending next year, as it continues its attempt to shift more defense spending from the annual discretionary budget to mandatory spending.

Domestic cuts

On the domestic side, the budget seeks a $28.5 billion increase for immigration enforcement, $4.7 billion more for the Department of Justice, and $10 billion for beautification projects in the nation’s capital.

But most domestic agencies would face steep cuts under Trump’s plan. Three departments — Interior, Housing and Urban Development, and Health and Human Services — would see cuts of around 13% each. And the Department of Education would take a 2.9% cut in what the budget calls “a path to elimination.”

The budget would continue Trump’s attempts to dismantle much of his predecessor’s environmental agenda, canceling $15 billion in renewable energy and clean air programs — and redirecting much of it to building fossil fuel infrastructure and energy-hungry artificial intelligence supercomputers for the Department of Energy.

Also proposed are large cuts to programs aimed at the poor like homeless assistance grants and home heating aid as well as to medical research. (Source: Bloomberg)