President Trump to Propose Military Spending Increase, Cut Other Programs

Throughout the 2016 presidential campaign, then-candidate Donald J. Trump was harshly critical of how Barack Obama had depleted our military and pledged to help rebuild America’s armed forces. Trump lamented that our military was no longer the envy of the world, and that if elected he would restore America’s military to great heights.

Well, it appears as though the Department of Defense will receive the funding needed to help rebuild our military, as President Trump is set to ask Congress to cut funding from the Department of State and Environmental Protection Agency in order to boost military spending. According to the White House budget blueprint, President Trump is seeking a $54 billion increase in defense spending.

According to The New York Times, while President Trump will ask for EPA and State Department cuts, Medicare and Social Security – which are the largest drivers of U.S. debt – will remain untouched, a promise President Trump made throughout the 2016 campaign.

To meet Mr. Trump’s defense request, lawmakers in both parties would have to agree to raise or end statutory spending caps on defense and domestic programs that were imposed by the 2011 Budget Control Act.

Politico reports that the cuts the president is asking for will be “dollar for dollar cuts” and in addition to military spending, President Trump is set to seek increased spending on “homeland security, intelligence, the Department of Justice and law enforcement:”

In conversations with conservative lawmakers, Trump’s team has been promising drastic reductions, from gutting the Environmental Protection Agency to eliminating the National Endowment for the Humanities. One plan floated among Capitol Hill lawmakers would reduce federal spending by $10.5 trillion over 10 years, in line with a blueprint from the Heritage Foundation.

In a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday, Trump pledged to oversee “one of the greatest military buildups in American history.”

“We will be substantially upgrading all of our military, all of our military, offensive, defensive, everything. Bigger and better and stronger than ever before,” Trump said. “And hopefully we’ll never have to use it, but nobody’s going to mess with us, folks. Nobody.”

In the past, Republicans have failed to adequately cut discretionary spending, despite pledging to do so. Former President George W. Bush was considered by many to be a big government Republican, a stark difference to President Trump, who has pledged to “drain the swamp” and eliminate much of the power of the federal bureaucracy and return authority to the states.

Unlike much of what the federal government does, defending our homeland is one of the few responsibilities that cannot be delegated to the 50 states.

What are your thoughts on President Trump’s proposal to increase military spending? Share your thoughts below! 

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