$1.5 Trillion for the Military. “We Can’t Take Care of Daycare.”

The big picture: Trump sent Congress the largest military budget request in modern American history: $1.5 trillion for the military, plus a separate $200 billion for the Iran war. That’s $1.7 trillion for the self-described Department of War. To partially offset it, the EPA is cut in half, NASA loses a quarter, the NIH loses $5 billion, and Housing loses $10 billion. When asked about daycare, Trump said on camera: “We can’t take care of daycare. We’re fighting wars.”

Why it matters: This is a 40% year-over-year increase and the biggest jump since the Korean War, according to Brookings. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates it would add $5.8 trillion to the national debt by 2035. AND Secretary of State Rubio just criticized Iran for spending its wealth on weapons instead of its people, then the administration proposed spending $1.7 trillion on exactly that.

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The military: $1.5 trillion requested (not counting $200B for Iran). Roughly 4.5% of GDP. Includes service member pay raises, the “Golden Dome” missile defense system, and the “golden fleet” of Navy ships. Justice Department gets $40 billion (13% increase). ICE gets $10 billion.

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The cuts: Non-defense discretionary spending drops ~10% to $660 billion. EPA cut in half. Labor loses $3.5 billion. HUD down $10 billion+. Energy loses $15 billion. NASA cut ~25%. HHS down 12%+, including $5 billion from the NIH. The White House said the NIH “broke the trust of the American people” with “dangerous ideologies.” Federal heating/cooling aid, disaster response, teacher training, tax fraud enforcement, disease research, and clean energy development all cut.

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The daycare quote: Trump on camera: “We can’t take care of daycare. We’re fighting wars. We can’t take care of daycare. Medicaid, Medicare, all these individual things, they can do it on a state basis. We have to take care of one thing: military protection.”

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The irony: Rubio recently said of Iran: “Imagine if instead of spending their wealth, billions of dollars supporting terrorists or weapons, they had spent that money helping the people of Iran.” The Trump budget proposes $1.7 trillion for war while saying the federal government can’t handle daycare.

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The ballroom: The budget includes $377 million for executive residence renovations this fiscal year and $174 million for next year. Over half a billion for the ballroom in a budget that says daycare isn’t possible.

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The deficit: The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates this would add $5.8 trillion to the national debt by 2035 including interest. Senator Patty Murray: “President Trump wants to slash medical research to fund costly foreign wars. The only responsible thing to do with a budget this morally bankrupt is to toss it in the trash.”

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By the numbers:

• $1.5 trillion — military budget request

• $200 billion — additional Iran war funding request

• $1.7 trillion — total war/military spending

• 40% — year-over-year increase

• $5.8 trillion — estimated addition to national debt by 2035

• 50% — EPA budget cut

• 25% — NASA budget cut

• $5 billion — cut from NIH

• $551 million — for White House ballroom renovations

• 0 — dollars for federal daycare

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The bottom line: The budget tells you what a president values even if it never passes as written. This one says the priority is war, deportation, and a ballroom. Cancer research, heating bills, daycare, disaster response, teacher training, and clean energy can wait. Rubio just criticized Iran for spending on weapons instead of people. Trump proposed $1.7 trillion for weapons and said on camera that daycare isn’t possible because “we’re fighting wars.” The irony writes itself. Unfortunately, the budget is real.

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Brookings Institution | Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget

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