Washington, DC — Last week, President Trump said the United States can’t pay for Medicaid, Medicare, and daycare because it’s too busy fighting wars. Now, Republicans in Congress need to decide whether or not to continue to try and make life even harder for working Americans with President Trump’s latest budget proposal.
Friday, the White House unveiled Trump’s 2027 budget proposal, which proposed even more cuts to programs that help working families get by in order to bankroll an unnecessary war in Iran, which nearly every Republican in Congress voted to support. According to reporting by the Associated Press, Trump wants to reduce spending on non-defense programs by 10 percent to fund a $500 billion increase in military spending. If passed by Republicans in Congress, Trump’s budget would eliminate programs that help reduce sky-high energy costs for working families and drastically cut housing, food, and other critical assistance programs, at a time when working Americans are already struggling to keep up with soaring costs.
“Whether it’s tax breaks for billionaires or funding for an unnecessary and unpopular war – Republicans’ priorities are clearly on the side of the ultra-wealthy, even as their policies continue to crush working families,” said Unrig Our Economy Campaign Director Leor Tal. “The President’s proposed budget is just the latest example of Republicans putting working Americans last. If congressional Republicans actually cared about lowering costs for the people they represent, they would oppose this plan.”
Associated Press: Trump budget seeks $1.5T in defense spending alongside cuts in domestic programs
Key Points:
- 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 president’s plan would reduce spending on non-defense programs by 10%.
- “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.”
- Among the priorities the White House called for:
- Maintaining Immigration and Customs Enforcement funds at current year levels and drawing on last year’s increases for the Department of Homeland Security funds to continue opening detention facilities.
- Cancels more than $15 billion from the Biden-era bipartisan infrastructure law, including funds for renewable energy projects and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, grants.
- A 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.
- 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 president also seeks to cut $106 million in funding from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
- 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.
To learn more about the campaign, visit UnrigOurEconomy.com or contact press@unrigoureconomy.com
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About Unrig Our Economy
Unrig Our Economy is a national campaign to fix the rules of our economy to make it work for working people. We know that when the middle class does well, all of us do well — which is why we’re fighting on behalf of working Americans and holding corporations, their wealthy executives, and the politicians who enable them accountable.