Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Denver news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Des Moines news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Minneapolis-St. Paul news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Tampa Bay news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Charlotte news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Trump addresses the crowd during the Opportunity Now summit at Central Piedmont Community College on Feb. 7 in Charlotte, N.C. Photo: Sean Rayford/Getty Images
President Trump's 2021 budget proposes $4.6 trillion in deficit reduction, but it would take 15 years to balance, according to a source familiar with the budget.
The big picture: The budget will project deficits until 2035 and rather than proposing a new round of tax cuts, it assumes the extension of Trump's 2017 tax bill through the next term.
Between the lines: On the 2016 campaign trail, Trump promised to eliminate the national debt in eight years. Not only has he failed to do that, but he's grown the debt by a trillion dollars each year he's been president. Even using optimistic scenarios, Trump's 2021 budget projects annual deficits to continue well beyond a second Trump term in office.
By the numbers: The Trump 2021 budget will propose a massive spending cut on nondefense activities — slashing almost $40 billion from the current levels to a proposed $590 billion, per sources familiar with the budget, and first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
- Trump's budget "targets $2 trillion in savings from mandatory spending programs, including $130 billion from changes to Medicare prescription-drug pricing, $292 billion from safety-net cuts—such as work requirements for Medicaid and food stamps—and $70 billion from tightening eligibility access to federal disability benefits," per the WSJ.
- The Environmental Protection Agency's budget would also be slashed by 26%, per the WSJ.
Trump will request $2 billion for his wall along the southern border, per a source familiar. That's less than half the $5 billion Trump requested for the wall in last year's budget.
- "The president has kept his promise to secure the border," said a senior administration official. "With funding available, the administration will build up to approximately 1,000 miles of border wall along the southwest border."
Reality check: Budgets are best understood as outlines of the president's priorities — and opening bids for negotiations — rather than blueprints of what Congress will ultimately agree upon.
- Lawmakers of both parties have ignored and stymied Trump's controversial requests, forcing him to resort to other legal avenues — such as declaring a national emergency to get money for his wall.