President Trump unveiled his new $4.8 trillion budget to Congress, which proposes steep reductions in social-safety-net programs and foreign aid, along with an increase in military spending.
According to POLITICO's Jennifer Sholtes and Caitlin Emma, Trump "thumbed his nose" at the spending caps he signed into law last summer with his new "conservative dream" budget designed to be more successful with lawmakers in Trump's potential second term.
"Since Trump and congressional leaders already settled on new funding caps for the fiscal year ahead, this budget was the president’s big chance to give realistic feedback on how he wants Congress to divvy up that cash," they write. "Instead, he burned that opportunity in favor of penning another fiscally conservative dream document lawmakers will largely disregard, though its cuts could please his base in November and get recycled should he win another four-year term."
According to House Appropriations Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-NY), it’s “unfortunate that instead of using his budget to build on the historic investments in last year’s budget deal, the president doubled down on partisan talking points that have no chance of becoming law," adding that it's “a disastrous repeat of the misplaced priorities and callous cuts he has pursued unsuccessfully in past requests."
Read more at POLITICO.