Trump Pledges to Make Permanent Budget Cuts Recommended by DOGE
President Donald Trump announced Friday that he will pursue permanent implementation of budget reductions identified by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a task force previously led by Elon Musk.
The DOGE has already uncovered $157 billion in potential federal savings.
However, Trump faced criticism from some conservatives for initially submitting only $9.4 billion in proposed permanent cuts to Congress.
“We’re totally committed to making the DOGE cuts permanent,” Trump stated during a press conference in the Oval Office. He said that the majority of the reductions “is going to come later.”
Standing beside Elon Musk, Trump thanked him for his service during Musk’s final appearance as a special government employee. Musk’s tenure as a key figure in the DOGE initiative has now concluded.
Trump highlighted several areas targeted in the initial $9.4 billion rescissions package, including funding for foreign aid, National Public Radio (NPR), and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).
The White House is expected to submit the formal rescissions package to Congress in the coming week, with more cuts likely to follow, the Conservative Brief reported.
Among the reductions already implemented, Trump cited the cancellation of $101 million in Department of Education contracts related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. He said this represented only a fraction of the potential savings in that department.
Trump also referenced the elimination of $59 million in federal spending for hotel accommodations for illegal immigrants in New York City. He claimed that landlords profited unusually from those contracts.
Another targeted cut involved $45 million in U.S.-funded DEI scholarships in Burma. “In Burma, does anyone know about Burma?” Trump asked before elaborating on the spending DOGE had flagged.
Further cuts have been incorporated into a larger House bill, which passed recently and will be reviewed by the Senate next week, according to the Washington Times.
“We want to get our great, big, beautiful bill finished and done,” Trump said. “We put some of this into the bill, but most of it’s going to come later. … It’s hundreds of billions of dollars.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson warned that some Senate Republicans might attempt to strip critical provisions from Trump’s bill. These provisions align closely with the president’s fiscal priorities.
Speaking on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Johnson emphasized that some key measures, including limiting nationwide injunctions by activist judges, could be removed by the Senate.
He also pushed back against claims from Democrats that the bill would cut Medicaid benefits. Johnson said the legislation focuses on eliminating fraud and misuse within federal assistance programs.
Johnson argued that over 1.4 million illegal immigrants are currently receiving Medicaid benefits, which he said were never intended for that population.
He added that approximately 4.8 million able-bodied individuals are enrolled in Medicaid while not working. Johnson described this as a misuse of taxpayer resources.
“If you are able to work and you refuse to do so, you are defrauding the system,” Johnson stated, emphasizing the bill’s inclusion of a 20-hour-per-week work requirement.
He concluded that such a requirement would restore fairness and dignity to welfare programs, saying it represents a “win-win-win for all.”
3/ On Monday comes the first DOGE bill to make Elon's cuts permanent. White House dropping BOMB on Congress – $9.4B clawback from public media & foreign aid!
This is just the start… pic.twitter.com/51Ee3u3dtg
— Rod D. Martin (@RodDMartin) May 30, 2025
Continue Scrolling for the Comments
Leave a Comment