Trump Wages War on Working Families to Fund $500 Billion Pentagon Boost
Trump Wages War on Working Families to Fund $500 Billion Pentagon Boost
President’s FY27 budget slashes programs that help families cover everyday costs to pour half-a-trillion into the Iran war and Pentagon as Americans’ trust in Trump’s economic agenda hits record lows
Today, President Trump released his administration’s FY2027 budget, doubling down on an unpopular economic agenda that is raising costs and ripping away support for working families. Trump’s budget proposes deep cuts to programs that help families afford energy bills and housing costs, while gutting worker protections to bankroll the Pentagon and Trump’s Iran war.
Since Trump launched his war on Iran, Americans have paid $8.4 billion more at the pump, adding to rising prices driven by his tariffs and economic chaos. Just this week, Trump said it’s “not possible” to help Americans afford health care or childcare because “we’re fighting wars.”
Though just 3 in 10 voters approve of Trump’s handling of the economy and two-thirds disapprove of his war in Iran, the president is pressing ahead with his misguided agenda instead of providing relief to American families.
Groundwork’s Managing Director of Policy and Advocacy Elizabeth Pancotti reacted,
“President Trump has made it abundantly clear he has no intention of providing an ounce of relief to Americans crushed under the weight of his unpopular and misguided agenda. Instead, he wants to hand the Pentagon a $500 billion blank check, paid for by gutting vital programs that help families afford heating bills, that ensure workers are protected on the job, and that provide a lifeline to small businesses. Despite pressing forward in Iran, the war he seems most interested in waging is one on the wallets of everyday Americans.”
Trump’s FY27 Budget Harms American Families by:
- Delivering a nearly $500 billion windfall to the Pentagon, paid for by cuts to programs that help working families. The president’s budget proposes a $1.5 trillion defense budget as he claims it’s “not possible” to help Americans pay for health and child care costs.
- Eliminating the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which helps more than 5 million families per year afford their utility bills. Trump’s war with Iran has sent oil prices soaring, just as utility companies head into auctions for liquified natural gas (LNG) supplies for next winter. Even if Trump ends his illegal war soon, families will feel the prolonged pain when they get their heating bills this winter. Instead of mitigating the fallout, he’s doubling down on forcing Americans to pay the price for his costly war.
- Gutting the Internal Revenue Service even further, by proposing a $1.4 billion funding cut and eliminating even more jobs. Trump and Republicans in Congress have worked tirelessly to reverse historic IRS investments made by the Inflation Reduction Act that equipped the agency to hold wealthy tax cheats accountable and better serve taxpayers. As a result, the IRS workforce is down 27% since he took office, letting tax cheats off the hook, worsening customer service, and delaying refunds for everyday taxpayers. But that’s not enough for the president – he won’t stop until the IRS is “abolished” and left with no resources to pursue his tax-dodging friends.
- Piloting privatization of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). As the partial government shutdown rages on and Republicans in Congress refuse to fund the TSA, President Trump is proposing selling the agency off entirely. Under the Trump administration, air travel has become more expensive and less safe, and rather than fixing the mess he’s created, the budget proposes putting public safety in the profit-motivated hands of private contractors.
- Leaving workers unprotected from unscrupulous employers by proposing more than $230 million in funding cuts for worker protection agencies. Trump campaigned on being a champion for American workers, yet he’s used every opportunity to turn his back on them. His budget proposal to defund enforcement agencies that protect workers from wage theft, unsafe workplaces, and discrimination on the job is just the latest in his string of attacks on American workers.
- Eliminating nearly $4 billion of public investments in affordable housing by cutting close to a dozen programs families and communities rely on – like the Community Development Block Grant program, HOME investment partnerships, and homelessness assistance programs. Trump ran on lowering the cost of living, but as mortgage rates surge and monthly rents continue to climb thanks in part to his own chaotic economic policies, his budget pours salt in the wound – wiping out the very programs that help families find affordable housing, stay in their homes, and get back on their feet.
- Cutting support for small businesses who have already been pummeled by Trump’s tariffs by decreasing the Small Business Administration’s funding by 37%. Over the past year, Trump’s chaotic and sweeping tariffs have cost small businesses an average of $25,000 per month. Now, they face skyrocketing transportation costs as fuel prices rise in the wake of Trump’s war with Iran. Trump’s policies have kept inflation persistently high and forced the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates high, saddling small businesses with high borrowing costs. Instead of offering relief to small businesses, the president is proposing slashing the agency dedicated to propping them up.
- Prioritizing funding for Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos while gutting programs families rely on. The budget requests $8.5 billion for NASA’s Artemis program, carried out by Musk’s SpaceX and Bezos’ Blue Origin. While pursuing billions in cuts to programs that American families, President Trump has ensured taxpayer dollars keep flowing to his billionaire backers.
