President Proposes $54 Billion Addition to Defense Budget

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President Donald Trump speaks before signing an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Friday, Feb. 24, 2017. The executive order would establish regulatory reform officers and task forces within federal agencies a part of his push to slash federal government regulations. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
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President Trump will propose adding $54 billion in defense and security funding while cutting that amount from “lower-priority programs” across government agencies, White House officials said Monday.

“We’re going to do more with less,” President Trump said Monday of his “historic increase in defense spending.” White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney emphasized that the “budget blueprint” details are a framework with a full budget expected in May. Mulvaney said, however, that the budget blueprint is “the president’s policies as reflected in top-line discretionary spending.”

“To that end, it is a true America-first budget. It will show the president is keeping his promises and doing exactly what he said he was going to do when he ran for office,” Mulvaney said during a news conference.

In a call with reporters Monday morning, an Office of Management and Budget official previewed the budget reductions across agencies, saying that they included a “large reduction in foreign aid.” The aid reduction, in tandem with the 10 percent increase in defense spending, echoes Trump’s campaign promise.

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