Trump Sought Vast Budget Cuts. Congress Granted Few.

Shortly after returning to office, President Trump proposed some of the steepest spending reductions in recent U.S. history, aiming to pare back core federal functions. Nearly a year later, Congress has rejected much of that vision, leaving many programs intact.

Lawmakers preserved a wide set of domestic programs — in education, health, housing and research — and are on track to approve more than $1.6 trillion in discretionary spending for 2026, a figure little changed from the prior year. The White House had initially sought about $163 billion in deep cuts, but much of that funding for medical research, college aid and benefits for poor people changed little in the enacted deals.

The administration did press other changes: it moved to shrink agencies, ousted thousands of federal workers, boosted defense spending and rescinded roughly $14 billion in previously approved foreign aid and public broadcasting funds.

United States

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