“ Trump proposes cutting $163bn in non-defense funds and boosting military Robert Tait in Washington Fri 2 May 2025 14.34 EDT Donald Trump is proposing huge cuts to social programmes like health and education while planning substantial spending increases on defense and the Department of Homeland Security, in a White House budget blueprint that starkly illustrates his preoccupation with projecting military strength and deterring migration. defense spending would also see financial outlays slashed for environmental and renewable energy schemes, as well as for the FBI, an agency Trump has claimed was weaponised against him during Joe Biden’s presidency. Spending reductions are also being projected for the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. In contrast to the squeeze on discretionary social programmes, the administration is planning a 13% rise – to more than $1tn – in the Pentagon budget, a commitment at odds with Trump’s frequent vows to end the US’s involvement in “forever wars” in the Middle East and elsewhere. The figures for the White House’s so-called “skinny budget” for 2026 represent a 22.6% cut in spending from that projected in the current fiscal year, which ends on 30 September. GOP budget goals impossible without Medicare and Medicaid cuts, budget office says Read more They include big cuts to the National Institutes of Health – which undertakes extensive research on cures for diseases such as cancer – as well as for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but provide funding of $500m for the Make America healthy again initiative spearheaded by Trump’s health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr. By contrast, the Department of Homeland Security – which oversees border security – would see its spending boosted by 65% in a graphic illustration of Trump’s intense focus on stemming the flow of migrants into the US. Non-defense discretionary spending refers to federal money that is reauthorised each year and generally covers areas like public health, transport and education. The latter sector faces cuts of $12bn under Trump’s plan. But it does not cover the highly sensitive areas of Medicare, Medicaid and social security, which provide healthcare and support for retirees and the poor and which the president has vowed to leave untouched. That has drawn widespread scepticism from Democrats, who accuse the Republican of plotting cuts to the programmes to pay for an extension of Trump’s sweeping 2017 tax cuts. The spending clampdown is consistent with the professed goals of Elon Musk’sunofficial “department of government efficiency” team, also known as Doge, which has infiltrated multiple federal agencies – including the Social Security Administration – in a supposed quest for “waste, fraud and abuse”. Doge’s aggressive onslaught has included the almost total shuttering of USAID, the federal agency for foreign assistance. The budget projections assume large-scale cuts to foreign aid….” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/03/trump-budget-cuts-health-education-military
And the Orange Crook wants to have a multi million dollar military parade for his birthday, all at Tax Payers expense.
“ Elon Musk's team is expected to target the Pentagon soon, pledging cost cuts” Members of Elon Musk's government efficiency team are poised to arrive at the Defense Department in the coming days. Officials tell NPR that DOGE has a target of cutting 8% from next year's budget. The officials were not authorized to speak publicly and provided details on condition of anonymity. Targets will likely include the workforce, which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth already said has grown too much. The unit called the Department of Government Efficiency has been rapidly moving throughout the federal workforce, restructuring and cutting personnel across multiple agencies. POLITICS Rounding up what happened with Elon Musk and DOGE this week The Pentagon employs 3 million troops and civilians, with a budget well over $800 billion. "We won World War II with seven four-star generals," Hegseth said during his confirmation hearing. "Today we have 44. … There is an inverse relationship between the size of staffs and victory on the battlefield. We do not need more bureaucracy at the top. We need more warfighters empowered at the bottom. So, it is going to be my job … to identify those places where fat can be cut, so it can go toward lethality." INVESTIGATIONS Musk claims DOGE is saving taxpayers billions, but the data is unclear Dov Zakheim, who served as Pentagon comptroller during the administration of George W. Bush, agreed that there has been a steep increase in personnel over the last two decades, since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but he also urged caution. "We have nowhere near the same level of military operation," Zakheim told NPR. "Bottom line, there certainly can be budget cuts. The issue is how the cuts are made. Too often 'cut drills' involve cutting the most promising new developments while protecting legacy systems." It appears, however, some legacy systems could be on the chopping block, like F-35 aircraft and armored vehicles. Trump officials are expected to push for more cutting-edge technology that could include drones, hypersonic missiles and cyber equipment. There is also expected to be an increase in shipbuilding to keep pace with China.” Feb 2025 NPR
“ "The Chance for Peace." "…The cost of one modern heavy bomber is this: a modern brick school in more than 30 cities. It is two electric power plants, each serving a town of 60,000 population. It is two fine, fully equipped hospitals. It is some 50 miles of concrete pavement. We pay for a single fighter plane with a half million bushels of wheat. We pay for a single destroyer with new homes that could have housed more than 8,000 people…” Speech - Dwight Eisenhower
Yes... do it... and close almost all of the overseas military bases, stop the unnecessary overseas wars and cut back on Israel aid and other unnecessary foreign aid... and definitely cut unnecessary Pentagon spending and use the incredible billions in savings, from the above, to invest in and incentivize small to middle size businesses and industry through out the USA.
At first Musk claimed DOGE would save $2 Trillion, the it was $1 Trillion, now it is down to $160 Billion. When properly evaluated the DOGE "savings" is actually $10 Billion at most since many of the listed programs were already discontinued under the prior administration. The reality is that DOGE actually cost a minimum of $135 Billion so far. A figure that is likely to go up to over $1 Trillion. Trump cutting the budget by $163 Billion is meaningless in context to the financial damage to the U.S. government (and associated costs) caused by DOGE.
Trump needs to cut the CIA and defense spending in half. Cutting low hanging corruption isn't enough, he needs to break corruptions access to power. WEF and CCP found willing partners in our bureaucracy, corruption is treason.