Trump budget seeks $1.5T in defense spending alongside cuts in domestic programs

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump 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. The sizable increase for the Pentagon, some 44%, had been telegraphed by the Republican president even before the the U.S.-led war against Iran. The president's plan would also reduce spending on non-defense programs by 10%. "President Trump promised to reinvest in America's national security infrastructure, to make sure our nation is safe in a dangerous world," wrote Budget Director Russell Vought. The president's annual budget is considered a reflection of the administration's values and does not carry the force of law. The massive document typically highlights an administration's priorities, but Congress, which handles federal spending issues, is free to reject it and often does. This year's White House document 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. Trump, speaking ahead of an address to the nation this week about the Iran war, signaled the military is his priority, setting up a clash ahead in Congress. "We're fighting wars. We can't take care of day care," Trump said at a private White House event Wednesday. "It's not possible for us to take care of day care, Medicaid, Medicare — all these individual things," he said. "They can do it on a state basis. You can't do it on a federal." Money for immigration enforcement, air traffic controllers and national parks Among the priorities the White House called for: Supporting the Trump administration's immigration enforcement and deportation operations by eliminating aspects of a refugee resettlement aid program, 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. A 13% increase in funding for the Department of Justice to focus on violent criminals and the president's promise to stop what the White House calls migrant crime. A $10 billion fund within the National Park Service for "construction and beautification" projects in Washington, D.C.. A $481 million increase in funding to enhance aviation safety and support an air traffic controller hiring surge. Cuts to green energy, housing and health programs Cancels more than $15 billion from the Biden-era bipartisan infrastructure law, including funds for renewable energy projects and cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, grants. 19% cut in the Department of Agriculture, ending certain university grants, a 13% cut for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and about a 12% decrease to the Health and Human Services department, including cuts to a low-income heating assistance program. The White House is touting cuts of what it calls "woke programs" that often direct federal investments toward low-income communities. The budget used the word "woke" 34 times For example, the administration is looking to cut Community Services Block Grants, which funds activities such as financial and job counseling and helping people obtain adequate housing. The administration says its cuts would target grants "hijacked by radicals" to promote equity-building and green energy initiatives. The president also seeks to cut $106 million in funding from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, which it says has "pushed radical gender ideology onto children." Supporters and detractors The Republican chairmen of the House and Senate Armed Services committees applauded Trump's request for defense spending, saying the money would ensure the country's military remains the most advanced in the world while confronting growing threats from China, Russia, Iran and others. "America is facing the most dangerous global environment since World War II," said Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala. The top Democrat on House Budget Committee, Rep. Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania, said the president was demanding a massive increase in defense while cutting billions from health care, housing and more. "This budget represents 'America Last,'" Boyle said. Debt, deficits and tough choices ahead With the nation running nearly $2 trillion annual deficits and the debt swelling past $39 trillion, the federal balance sheets have long been operating in the red. 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 — along with an aging population — on autopilot. It's the rest of the annual budget where much of the debate in Congress takes place, as Democrats over the years have insisted that changes in the level of spending for defense and non-defense need to be equitable. The GOP's big tax breaks bill that Trump signed into law last year boosted his priorities beyond the budget process — with at least $150 billion for the Pentagon over the next several years, and $170 billion for Trump's immigration and deportation operations at the Department of Homeland Security. The administration is counting on its allies in the Republican-led Congress to push part of president's beefed up defense spending through its own budget process, as it was able to do last year. 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 go in the budget reconciliation process that Republicans can accomplish on their own, through party-line majority votes. Congress still fighting over 2026 spending The president's budget arrives as the House and Senate remain tangled over current-year spending and stalemated over DHS funding, with Democrats demanding changes to Trump's immigration enforcement regime that Republicans are unwilling to accept. 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 that has reached 49 days. Last year, in the president's first budget since returning to the White House, 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. However, while Trump had sought a roughly one-fifth decrease in non-defense spending, Congress kept such spending relatively flat. Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, called Trump's new budget "morally bankrupt." "Trump wants to build a ballroom," Murray said, referring to the White House renovation. "I want to build more affordable housing, and only one of us sits on the Appropriations Committee." Associated Press reporter Bill Barrow in Atlanta contributed to this report. An earlier version of this story misstated what NOAA stands for. It is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.