Lawmakers from both parties declined to adopt many of President Donald Trump’s proposed reductions, keeping overall discretionary spending close to prior-year levels.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Nearly a year after President Donald Trump introduced a budget plan calling for some of the most significant spending reductions in recent decades, Congress has moved forward with funding levels that largely diverge from the administration’s proposals, according to a report by The New York Times.
Lawmakers from both parties have set aside many of the White House’s most aggressive cuts for the current fiscal year, preserving a range of federal programs that the administration sought to reduce or eliminate.
Preliminary analysis of federal budget data by the Penn Wharton Budget Model indicates Congress is on track to approve more than $1.6 trillion in discretionary spending for fiscal year 2026, a figure that shows little change from the previous year. The findings highlight the difficulty the administration has encountered in converting its budget blueprint into enacted legislation as appropriators advance spending bills that differ significantly from the president’s original outline.
According to the Times, funding areas targeted for elimination or steep reductions — including medical research, college aid and benefits for low-income Americans — experienced only modest changes.
At the same time, Trump advanced other objectives, particularly in reducing the size of the federal workforce by dismissing thousands of employees.
Tensions have emerged between the White House and some congressional Republicans, particularly those facing reelection in November. The administration has attempted to use contested procedural tools to rescind billions of dollars in previously approved funding that the president opposes.
Kent Smetters, faculty director of the Penn Wharton Budget Model, told the Times that presidential budgets are often “aspirational in nature” and noted that “strong vested interests” typically exist to preserve federal spending.
The Times based its preliminary estimates on spending across 11 appropriations bills adopted by Congress, using early data from Democrats on the Senate Appropriations Committee and outside organizations. A 12th appropriations measure covering homeland security has not yet been approved. Senior Republican appropriators did not respond to requests for comment.
The analysis focused on domestic spending rather than defense, where Trump has pursued increases. Some military funding was secured through tax legislation offset in part by reductions in programs such as Medicaid and food assistance.
The White House maintains that it has altered the country’s fiscal direction, citing efforts to close agencies and rescind billions in previously authorized expenditures, including approximately $14 billion approved last year for foreign aid and public broadcasting.
“The appropriations bills, reconciliation, rescissions, all the different tools we are using — it’s the end of futility,” Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, said in a statement.
Marc Goldwein, senior vice president at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said the administration’s first year produced mixed budget outcomes. He noted that the White House did not achieve a large nominal reduction in 2026 spending but described the prevention of routine domestic spending increases as a “big victory.”
Congress responded to some unilateral executive actions last year by imposing new restrictions in recent spending agreements intended to limit the president’s ability to pause or redirect funds once appropriated.
Numerous actions targeting billions of dollars in federal funding remain subject to ongoing litigation, and several federal reviews have identified potential legal concerns. Administration officials, however, have indicated they will continue efforts to rescind spending the president opposes, regardless of congressional resistance.
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