Trump’s budget would boost defense and slash domestic programs – Roll Call

## Summary
President Donald Trump salutes a Marine on the South Lawn of the White House before boarding Marine One on March 11. ( Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call ) By David Lerman Posted April 3, 2026 at 1:26pm Facebook Twitter Email Reddit President Donald Trump unveiled on Friday a nearly $2.2 trillion discretionary spending request for the coming fiscal year, a nearly 21 percent increase over the current year’s level because of a dramatic proposed boost in defense funding. Here are some key takeaways from the 92-page budget request: National security funding, which includes some Energy Department programs, would total $1.5 trillion, a 42 percent increase. Discretionary funding for nondefense programs would total $660.1 billion, compared to $733.5 billion approved for the current fiscal year. After accounting for disaster relief, wildfire suppression and other programs that don’t count against annual spending limits, the total discretionary request would be nearly $2.18 trillion, an increase of 15.3 percent from this year’s level.

## Article Content
President Donald Trump salutes a Marine on the South Lawn of the White House before boarding Marine One on March 11. (
Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call
)
By
David Lerman
Posted April 3, 2026 at 1:26pm
Facebook
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President Donald Trump unveiled on Friday a nearly $2.2 trillion discretionary spending request for the coming fiscal year, a nearly 21 percent increase over the current year’s level because of a dramatic proposed boost in defense funding.
The election-year spending blueprint doubles down on an administration drive to pump up the Pentagon’s budget while making major reductions to various domestic programs. It also calls for passing another filibuster-proof reconciliation bill to boost defense and homeland security funding outside of the regular appropriations process.
Here are some key takeaways from the 92-page budget request:
National security funding, which includes some Energy Department programs, would total $1.5 trillion, a 42 percent increase. But the administration is counting on the Republican-controlled House and Senate to pass a reconciliation bill that would fund $350 billion of that amount.
Nondefense discretionary programs would again be put under the White House chopping block. The budget calls for $73 billion in net cuts to those programs, or roughly 10 percent from current levels.
Cuts to certain departments would be far more dramatic than the overall average. The EPA would be slashed by 52 percent, a $4.6 billion cut. The Small Business Administration would be chopped by 67 percent, or by $700 million. The State Department would be cut by more than 30 percent, or $15.5 billion. And the Labor Department would be slashed by nearly 26 percent, or $3.5 billion.
Discretionary funding for nondefense programs would total $660.1 billion, compared to $733.5 billion approved for the current fiscal year. While the proposed cuts aren’t quite as steep as those the administration sought last year, Congress largely rejected those cuts in fiscal 2026 appropriations bills.
Only a few departments would receive higher budgets. The Justice Department would get a 13 percent, or $4.7 billion, increase. The Department of Veterans Affairs would get an 8.7 percent, or $11.5 billion, increase. And the Pentagon would see a 43.7 percent, or $440.9 billion, increase.
After accounting for disaster relief, wildfire suppression and other programs that don’t count against annual spending limits, the total discretionary request would be nearly $2.18 trillion, an increase of 15.3 percent from this year’s level.
The administration is also expected to request a supplemental funding package for the Iran war that could amount to $200 billion, though that does not appear to be included in the budget.
The White House also assumes it could continue to cut nondefense spending by 2 percent annually to keep total discretionary spending declining over 10 years. The nearly $2.2 trillion in discretionary spending in fiscal 2027 would fall to $1.93 trillion in fiscal 2036.
The administration also projects a fairly rosy economic outlook for the coming decade, with gross domestic product growing 3.1 percent in fiscal 2027 and declining only modestly, to a 2.9 percent growth rate, in the latter half of the decade. It projects a 3.9 percent unemployment rate in 2026, falling to 3.7 percent in 2027 and throughout the decade. The current unemployment rate for March is 4.3 percent. And inflation, as measured by the consumer price index, would be 2.3 percent this coming fiscal year, dropping to 2.2 percent for the rest of the decade.
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## Expert Analysis

### Merits
- Recent Stories Trump’s budget would boost defense and slash domestic programs Courts likely to block Trump’s effort to curtail mail-in voting At the Races: Operation Republican rescue Pamela Bondi, staunch Trump ally, out as attorney general Democrats eye 2028 for bigger health care push Senate Democrats call on CMS to rein in Medicare Advantage abuses

### Areas for Consideration
N/A

### Implications
- The administration is also expected to request a supplemental funding package for the Iran war that could amount to $200 billion, though that does not appear to be included in the budget.
- The White House also assumes it could continue to cut nondefense spending by 2 percent annually to keep total discretionary spending declining over 10 years.

### Expert Commentary
This article covers percent, billion, fiscal topics. Notable strengths include discussion of percent. Readability: Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.0. Word count: 623.