Trump Proposes $163 Billion in Nondefense Spending Cuts

President Donald Trump asked Congress on Friday to slash a stunning $163 billion in overall spending on nondefense programs in the next fiscal year.

Trump’s budget proposal is asking congressional Republicans to cut more than 20%. He plans to achieve the goal by eliminating some agencies and organizations as well as imposing cuts to key environmental, education, foreign aid and energy programs, and canceling hundreds of millions of dollars in grants and spending priorities that his administration has determined to be “wasteful.”

At the same time, Trump is asking Congress to sharply increase funding for border security and defense, air and rail safety, and law enforcement.

The proposal, known as the “skinny budget,” is largely symbolic and is unlikely to be translated into law in full. But it outlines the administration’s spending priorities – something that has become a point of contention as Trump and congressional Republicans butt heads during the ongoing reconciliation process to enact a multiyear budget blueprint that contains many of his legislative priorities.

The budget proposal would codify many of the spending cuts that have already been implemented by Trump and Tesla billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.

“The recommended funding levels result from a rigorous, line-by-line review of FY 2025 spending, which was found to be laden with spending contrary to the needs of ordinary working Americans and tilted toward funding niche nongovernmental organizations and institutions of higher education committed to radical gender and climate ideologies antithetical to the American way of life,”
– White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, in a letter to Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine.

• Trump is proposing cuts amounting to 23% of “nondefense discretionary” spending, which excludes the Pentagon, Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare.
• Programs targeted for cuts include education, climate assistance, research funding, and other government functions.
• The focus is on eliminating “wasteful” spending on grants and programs related to environmental and gender issues, which the administration views as contrary to the needs of everyday Americans.
• Funding for defense, border security, and law enforcement would be significantly increased.
• The proposal is largely symbolic and unlikely to be adopted in full but signals the administration’s policy priorities.

Congress, which is already working at hammering out the individual bills that will make up the budget, will evaluate the proposal.

House Speaker Mike Johnson quickly endorsed the White House plan, saying it “ensures every federal taxpayer dollar spent is used to serve the American people, not a bloated bureaucracy or partisan pet projects.”

“Our country cannot continue to bear the hard consequences of years of runaway spending under Democratic leadership, and this budget makes clear that fiscal discipline is nonnegotiable,”
– House Speaker Mike Johnson.

The president is required by law to submit a budget proposal, but in most years the plan serves as little more than a statement of the administration’s priorities. Lawmakers have the power to amend their bills to align it with the president’s proposal, but more often they dismiss it in favor of their own plans. House Republicans with authority over spending have not said if they will abide by Trump’s funding targets.