Sen. McCain made a statement on Monday in response to the budget blueprint, criticizing it: “President Trump intends to submit a defense budget that is a mere 3% above President Obama’s defense budget, which has left our military underfunded, undersized, and unready to confront threats to our national security.”
CNN reports that OMB officials further specify that, of the budget cuts to non-defense spending, a sizable portion comes from close to 25% of the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget. A former EPA official comments that this cut leaves the EPA enough funding for specifically its most basic functions.
OMB officials add that the Administration expects other countries to carry a larger load of the programs that the U.S. currently funds. Republicans have long awaited an opportunity to increase foreign aid, and now, cuts to programs from which foreign countries benefit will inadvertently provide that aid; although, it is highly unlikely these cuts will yield $54 billion since foreign aid comprises only 1% of the federal budget, facilitating national security policy through those programs.
