GOP Senate Budget Committee chairman says he's ignoring Trump's $4.8 trillion budget


The White House rolled out President Trump's $4.8 trillion budget blueprint on Monday, mixing hikes in military and border spending with sharp cuts to almost every domestic program in a quixotic or cynical nod toward eventual fiscal rectitude. Nobody expected Congress to embrace all of Trump's ideas, but Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) said Monday he plans to ignore all of it.
In speech on the Senate floor, Enzi encouraged people "not to waste any time searching out the president's budget cuts. Nobody has listened to the president in the 23 years that I've been here. Congress doesn't pay attention to the president's budget exercise. I don't know why we put him through that." He said he wouldn't hold any hearings on Trump's budget, noting he similarly ignored former President Barack Obama's final budget blueprint.
"Congress doesn't pay any attention to the president's budget exercise," Enzi said, according to The Hill. "It's all it is — an exercise. Congress holds the purse strings, according to the Constitution, and Congress is very protective of that constitutional authority."
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.
The Senate Finance Committee is hearing budget testimony from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar this week, however, and White House and congressional budget officials will also testify before the House on Trump's budget proposals. "If you want the animosity of a budget hearing," go watch the House hearings, Enzi suggested. "You can take that in and get your dose of animosity if you want."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
The Assassin: action-packed caper is 'terrific fun'
The Week Recommends Keeley Hawes stars as a former hitwoman drawn out of retirement for 'one last job'
-
The EPA wants to green-light approval for a twice-banned herbicide
Under the radar Dicamba has been found to harm ecosystems
-
Sudoku medium: July 30, 2025
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
Judge halts GOP defunding of Planned Parenthood
Speed Read The Trump administration can't withhold Medicaid funds from Planned Parenthood, said the ruling
-
Trump contradicts Israel, says 'starvation' in Gaza
Speed Read The president suggests Israel could be doing more to alleviate the suffering of Palestinians
-
Trump executive order targets homeless
Speed Read It will now be easier for states and cities to remove homeless people from the streets
-
Columbia pays $200M to settle with White House
Speed Read The Trump administration accused the school of failing to protect its Jewish students amid pro-Palestinian protests
-
Florida judge and DOJ make Epstein trouble for Trump
Speed Read The Trump administration's request to release grand jury transcripts from the Epstein investigation was denied
-
Trump attacks Obama as Epstein furor mounts
Speed Read The Trump administration accused the Obama administration of 'treasonous' behavior during the 2016 election
-
Trump administration releases MLK files
Speed Read Newly released documents on the 1968 assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did not hold any new revelations, King historians said
-
Japan's prime minister feels pressure after election losses
Speed Read Shigeru Ishiba has vowed to remain in office