President Donald Trump’s administration is set to release a “skinny” budget blueprint on Friday, highlighting topline spending figures from the White House. This blueprint is expected to request increased funding for the defense budget.
Senior officials at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) have informed FOX Business that the total discretionary budget will amount to $1.7 trillion. This discretionary budget excludes spending on Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and interest on the debt.
The defense budget is anticipated to exceed the $1 trillion mark for the first time, reaching $1.16 trillion. This figure includes $892.6 billion in discretionary spending and $119.3 billion in mandatory spending outlined in the skinny budget, along with an additional $150 billion planned for an upcoming reconciliation bill.
The senior officials explained that the Trump administration aims to creatively navigate the budget approval process in Congress. Historically, Republican majorities have had to increase non-defense spending to secure hikes in defense spending. By maintaining discretionary defense spending at $892.6 billion—consistent with fiscal year 2025—the budget presented to Democrats would essentially show an unchanged defense discretionary budget and a reduced non-defense discretionary budget of approximately $557 billion, marking a 22.6% decrease.
The White House and congressional Republicans plan to pursue an additional $150 billion in mandatory defense spending through the budget reconciliation process, linked to a tax cut package. This $150 billion, alongside the $119.3 billion in the skinny budget, would result in a total defense spending increase of about 13.4%, rising to roughly $1.16 trillion.
All departments were instructed to propose budget cuts, except the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Transportation, which were exempted to protect veterans’ services and support NASA and space exploration programs.
This story is developing, and further updates are expected.