White House budget director Mick Mulvaney explains President Trump's proposal is a 'hard power' budget

Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney told reporters Wednesday he'd describe President Trump's 2018 proposal as a "hard power budget." "It is not a soft power budget," Mulvaney said. “This is a hard power budget and that was done intentionally."
Trump's budget plan unveiled Thursday morning proposes a $54 billion boost in defense spending, as well as an increase in border security spending. "The president very clearly wants to send a message to our allies and our potential adversaries that this is strong power administration," Mulvaney said. He noted the budget will likely include "a request for $1.5 billion as the first installment for Trump's promised wall" on the U.S.-Mexico border.
To offset the Trump administration's renewed focus on defense, the budget calls for deep cuts to most federal agencies' budgets. The Environmental Protection Agency's budget will be slashed by as much as 30 percent, though Mulvaney claimed Wednesday the "core functions of the EPA can be satisfied with this budget." John O'Grady, head of the union that represents EPA employees, said the EPA is "already on a starvation diet, with a bare-bones budget and staffing level." As for proposed cuts at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Mulvaney said those were part of Trump's effort to "get rid of programs that don't work."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Trump's budget proposal has a slim chance of becoming reality, as Republican leaders have already indicated major parts of the blueprint would not survive Congress. Mulvaney said Trump will release a full budget in May, which will include a "10-year projection" on the border wall.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Garsington Opera opens its summer festival with two 'very different productions'
The Week Recommends A 'fabulous' new staging of Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades and Donizetti's fake-love-potion comedy L'elisir d'amore
-
The Rehearsal series two: Nathan Fielder's docu-comedy is 'laugh-out-loud funny'
The Week Recommends Television's 'great illusionist' has turned his attention to commercial airline safety
-
The Ballad of Wallis Island: bittersweet British comedy is a 'delight'
The Week Recommends A reclusive millionaire lures his favourite folk duo to an island for an 'awkward reunion'
-
Elon Musk slams Trump's 'pork-filled' signature bill
speed read 'Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong,' Musk posted on X
-
Depleted FEMA struggling as hurricane season begins
speed read FEMA has lost a third of its workforce amid DOGE cuts enforced by President Donald Trump
-
White House tackles fake citations in MAHA report
speed read A federal government public health report spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was rife with false citations
-
Judge blocks push to bar Harvard foreign students
speed read Judge Allison Burroughs sided with Harvard against the Trump administration's attempt to block the admittance of international students
-
Trump's trade war whipsawed by court rulings
Speed Read A series of court rulings over Trump's tariffs renders the future of US trade policy uncertain
-
Elon Musk departs Trump administration
speed read The former DOGE head says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies
-
Trump taps ex-personal lawyer for appeals court
speed read The president has nominated Emil Bove, his former criminal defense lawyer, to be a federal judge
-
US trade court nullifies Trump's biggest tariffs
speed read The US Court of International Trade says Trump exceeded his authority in imposing global tariffs