Depending on which side of the political spectrum one happens to sit, President Donald Trump’s budget request for fiscal year 2026 is either a bold stroke of genius that cuts wasteful government spending, or one big mess that takes resources away from the most vulnerable.
Based on the documents released last week by the Office of Management and Budget, the Trump administration seeks to add more resources to defense programs while cutting the overall federal budget to less than $1.7 trillion, a seven percent decrease from the previous fiscal year. The White House can only accomplish both of these objectives by paring back on the resources allocated for domestic agencies, and this is exactly what it’s trying to do. The Environmental Protection Agency, for example, would see a 54 percent cut. The Department of Housing and Urban Development would get a 44 percent slashing. The State Department and international programs account, meanwhile, would watch 84 percent of its funding vanish into thin air.
Congressional Democrats were aghast, but this was to be expected. What’s surprising is that senior Republican lawmakers are also making a stink. Members of the armed services committees are some of the most vocal, complaining about what they view as an inadequate budget for the U.S. military. Senator Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, blasted the Trump administration’s proposal as a continuation of a Biden-era freeze on the defense budget and countered the assertion made by Trump’s budget officials that the Pentagon will soon see $1 trillion in new spending. Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), who heads the Senate Appropriations Committee, wasn’t pleased either, writing in a statement that she had “serious objections to the proposed freeze in our defense funding” given all the security crises occurring around the world today.
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