Overview
- At a private White House Easter luncheon on Wednesday, Trump said the federal government “can’t take care of daycare” and urged states to fund it even if they raise their taxes.
- Two days later, the administration’s FY2027 plan proposed about $1.5 trillion more for the Pentagon and a 10% cut to domestic programs, including aid that helps low-income households pay heating and cooling bills.
- The statement matches a broader shift that prioritizes military spending over social programs, a choice commentators said was unusually direct for a sitting Republican president.
- The stance breaks with Trump’s 2015 pledge not to cut Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security, a promise he repeated during his first run for the White House.
- Recent actions already moved in this direction, with Republican-backed cuts to Medicaid and food assistance and the refusal to extend Affordable Care Act premium subsidies that had helped more than 20 million people.