After suffering for eight years under the rule of former President Barack Obama, our military is finally getting a much needed upgrade.
President Donald Trump promised to make America safe again — and he’s giving our armed forces the weapons they need to do it.
Lots and lots of weapons.
The White House says Trump’s upcoming budget will propose a whopping $54 billion increase in defense spending and impose corresponding cuts to welfare programs and foreign aid.
The result is the beginning of what Trump has called the “greatest military build-up in history” — and it has supporters cheering (and liberals spitting mad).
The increase of about 10 percent for the Pentagon would fulfill a Trump campaign promise to build up the military to protect America from foreign threats. The senior budget official said there will be a large reduction in foreign aid and that most domestic agencies will have to absorb cuts. He did not offer details, but the administration is likely to go after longtime Republican targets like the Environmental Protection Agency.
The tentative proposals for the 2018 budget year that begins Oct. 1 are being sent to agencies, which will have a chance to propose changes.
The president told American governors at the White House on Monday that “we’re going to make it easier for states to invest in infrastructure” and that, overall, “we’re going to do more with less and make the government lean and accountable to the people.”
Trump’s first major fiscal marker is landing in the agencies one day before his first address to a joint meeting of Congress. For Trump, the prime-time speech is an opportunity to refocus his young presidency on the core economic issues that were a centerpiece of his White House run.
The upcoming submission covers the budget year starting on Oct. 1. But first there’s an April 28 deadline to finish up spending bills for the ongoing 2017 budget year, which is almost half over. Any stumble or protracted battle there could risk a government shutdown as well.
The March budget plan is also expected to include an immediate infusion of 2017 cash for the Pentagon that’s expected to register about $20 billion or so, and to contain the first wave of funding for Trump’s promised border wall and other initiatives like hiring immigration agents.
The president previewed the boost in military spending during a speech Friday to conservative activists, pledging “one of the greatest 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,” he said.
In an interview with Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said cuts to Social Security and Medicare would not be part of the administration’s first budget. Trump’s priority is passing legislation to reduce middle-class and corporate taxes, he said.
As a candidate, Trump promised to leave Social Security and Medicare untouched, breaking with some Republican leaders who believe the programs need to be reformed.
The Associated Press contributed to this article