Trump Seeks Sharp Increases In Military Spending, "Drastic Cuts" To State Department, EPA

[LonestarDream]

As part of his proposed budget, President Trump will instruct federal agencies on Monday to assemble a spending plan for the coming fiscal year that includes sharp increases in Defense Department spending and "drastic cuts" to domestic agencies such as the State Department, the EPA and other non-defense programs, so that he can keep his promise to leave Social Security and Medicare alone, according to four senior administration officials cited by the NYT. The budget outline will be the first move in a campaign this week to reset the narrative of Mr. Trump’s turmoil-tossed White House.

Coming one day before delivering his high-stakes "State of the Union" address on Tuesday to a joint session of Congress, Trump will demand a budget with tens of billions of dollars in reductions to the Environmental Protection Agency and State Department, administration officials reported. The NYT adds that social safety net programs, aside from the big entitlement programs for retirees, would also be hit hard. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, speaking on Fox News earlier on Sunday, said Trump's budget would not seek cuts in federal social programs such as Social Security and Medicare.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-02-27/trump-seeks-sharp-increases-military-spending-drastic-cuts-state-department-epa

More winning..  Never got anything like this under Bush compassionate conservatism. 

[Rivergirl]

Embassies will be without us, U.S.
A few selected countries will have an ambassador.  Countries where DT does business.

[Smokin Joe]

Embassies will be without us, U.S.
A few selected countries will have an ambassador.  Countries where DT does business.

A problem with that is that anyone seeking asylum at a US Embassy (esp. US citizens) would have to cross the border to get to an Embassy. If getting out of the country wasn't a problem (for whatever reason), they might not need the help of the diplomats in the first place.

[driftdiver]

Embassies will be without us, U.S.
A few selected countries will have an ambassador.  Countries where DT does business.

@Rivergirl Where did you see that referenced?

[geronl]

Embassies will only be used to secure contracts for Trump companies anyway

[geronl]

We spend enough money on defense as it is, it just needs to be spent on defense instead of other things

[geronl]

Congress writes the budget

[txradioguy]

Big mistake cutting the funding to the Embassies...IF that goes through.

Effective foreign policy and deterrence requires diplomacy AND a strong military.

[txradioguy]

We spend enough money on defense as it is, it just needs to be spent on defense instead of other things

No actually we don't.  3/4 of the marine Air Corps is grounded...the Navy has one possibly two Ohio class submarines that have lost their diver certification...the Air Force B-1 fleet is practically grounded and they are going to Museum pieces to get spare parts.

3 of the 58 Brigades are combat ready and only one could deploy to war right now if called upon.

4% of the GDP goes towards defense...somewhere between 15% and 20% of the GDP goes to unfunded liabilities a.k.a. welfare.

We've been living under CR anfter CR for the last 9 years and it has killed the military...Obama accomplished his goal.

We don't spend enough on defense.

[geronl]

No actually we don't.  3/4 of the marine Air Corps is grounded...the Navy has one possibly two Ohio class submarines that have lost their diver certification...the Air Force B-1 fleet is practically grounded and they are going to Museum pieces to get spare parts.


We don't spend enough on defense.

We're spending a lot of it in the wrong places and in the wrong ways.

[txradioguy]

We're spending a lot of it in the wrong places and in the wrong ways.

If you're referring to the military budget...no...not really.    There's not a lot of money to spend these days.

[LonestarDream]

Very scary.

No actually we don't.  3/4 of the marine Air Corps is grounded...the Navy has one possibly two Ohio class submarines that have lost their diver certification...the Air Force B-1 fleet is practically grounded and they are going to Museum pieces to get spare parts.

3 of the 58 Brigades are combat ready and only one could deploy to war right now if called upon.

4% of the GDP goes towards defense...somewhere between 15% and 20% of the GDP goes to unfunded liabilities a.k.a. welfare.

We've been living under CR anfter CR for the last 9 years and it has killed the military...Obama accomplished his goal.

We don't spend enough on defense.

[txradioguy]

Very scary.

That's just what I pulled off the top of my head.  There are hundreds of unseen cuts and closures that effect the families and the overall morale of the force that never get reported on.  But they have the same impact on the force that the ones I mentioned.  Obama came as close to purposely breaking the military as any Liberal president in my lifetime.

[Norm Lenhart]

So now we are to hate Trump for fixing the military and gutting two bastions of liberalism because ...why? I sure do remember people complaining when Barry gutted the military and empowered those other bastions of liberalism mentioned above. So what is it you people want exactly? Other than to be an embarrassment to conservatism I mean? Surely you want something. Just check your DNC talking point memos. I'm sure they typed you a rebuttal unless the mindless drooling obscured it's legibility.

[endicom]

Embassies will be without us, U.S.
A few selected countries will have an ambassador.  Countries where DT does business.

Where did you get that from?

[don-o]

All my life I have heard calls to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse from defense spending. All my life I have seen suppliers sign a contract, then come back wanting and getting more money.

Seems like a fixed game and taxpayers and the troops get repeatedly screwed over.

[Norm Lenhart]

Where did you get that from?

Her ass.

I don't know what the point is to inventing problems to blame Trump for. All the crying wolf isn't helping matters. When the guy screws up or goes left, he damn well should be called on it. Loudly But this running around like chickens with heads cut off every single time he does or even DOESN'T do something is freaking pathetic. If/when he screws up, no one will be left to listen.

And I say that as someone who spent the campaign pointing out the Liberalism Trump is actually guilty of.

[don-o]

That's just what I pulled off the top of my head.  There are hundreds of unseen cuts and closures that effect the families and the overall morale of the force that never get reported on.  But they have the same impact on the force that the ones I mentioned.  Obama came as close to purposely breaking the military as any Liberal president in my lifetime.

How much of this touched defense contractors? What is the ultimate effect of their political activism upon military readiness?

Eisenhower was right.

[don-o]

And I say that as someone who spent the campaign pointing out the Liberalism Trump is actually guilty of.

That you did. And I commend you for your integrity and your insistence on dealing with reality.

[endicom]

I don't know what the point is to inventing problems to blame Trump for. All the crying wolf isn't helping matters. When the guy screws up or goes left, he damn well should be called on it. Loudly But this running around like chickens with heads cut off every single time he does or even DOESN'T do something is freaking pathetic. If/when he screws up, no one will be left to listen.

And I say that as someone who spent the campaign pointing out the Liberalism Trump is actually guilty of.

Frankly, you surprised me. Instead of gluing yourself to the Ne'erTrump bandwagon, you're assessing the passing parade for what you see there.

[Norm Lenhart]

Frankly, you surprised me. Instead of gluing yourself to the Ne'erTrump bandwagon, you're assessing the passing parade for what you see there.

I said all along that I'd support the good he did and call him on the bad. Even before he got elected, if in fact he got elected. I'm just sticking to my word on that. And if he goes left or does something really stupid, I'll call him on it as well. So far he is governing largely conservatively. Not entirely, but certainly above Reagan's 80% threshold. So I'll support that until there is a reason not to.

He's going to be president for 4 years. There is no point in taking balls and going home when he is doing many of the things that we all wanted done. Or to be more precise, what most here SAID they wanted done when there was no chance of it actually happening...when there was no cost in doing so.

[libertybele]

Great!  I am very glad to hear it and  I have absolutely no qualms about expanding and increasing our military and I am confident that President Trump will look into slashing unnecessary military expenses such as outrageous contracts with defense contractors.

[txradioguy]

All my life I have heard calls to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse from defense spending. All my life I have seen suppliers sign a contract, then come back wanting and getting more money.

Seems like a fixed game and taxpayers and the troops get repeatedly screwed over.

If I could change one thing about how the Pentagon does business...it would be to find a way to prevent officers and Sr. NCO's from writing a position for them to be either hired as a contractor or turn their job into a civilian position the day after they retire...and it's only a job they are qualified for.

Either that or pass legislation that says that if you retire one day and become a contractor doing your same job the next...your retirement pay and benefits are put in on hold until you aren't a contractor anymore.  You want to be a contractor...then you get treated like a contractor.

[txradioguy]

Frankly, you surprised me. Instead of gluing yourself to the Ne'erTrump bandwagon, you're assessing the passing parade for what you see there.

Most of us do that.  Shame you don't see it.

[dfwgator]

Big mistake cutting the funding to the Embassies...IF that goes through.

Effective foreign policy and deterrence requires diplomacy AND a strong military.

A Strong Military IS Diplomacy.