Nearly a year after President Donald Trump unveiled a budget blueprint calling for some of the steepest spending reductions in modern history, Congress declined to adopt many of the proposed cuts, according to a report Tuesday by The New York Times.
Lawmakers from both parties have largely set aside the administration's most aggressive reductions for the current fiscal year, preserving a wide range of federal programs that the White House had sought to scale back or eliminate.
As a result, Congress is on pace to approve more than $1.6 trillion in discretionary spending for fiscal year 2026 — a total that represents little change from the prior year, according to a preliminary analysis of federal budget data by the Penn Wharton Budget Model, a nonpartisan research organization.
The findings underscore the challenges the administration has faced in translating its budget proposals into enacted law, as appropriators in Congress move forward with spending levels that diverge significantly from the president's original plan.
The data show that some of the funding that the president had attempted to erase — including for medical research, college aid, and benefits for poor people — instead changed only slightly, according to the Times.
However, Trump prevailed in other ways, most notably in his efforts to reduce the size and reach of government by firing thousands of federal workers.
Some congressional Republicans, many of whom are up for reelection in November, have been at odds with the White House, reinforcing Trump's desire to circumvent lawmakers by using a series of contested maneuvers to revoke billions in congressionally approved spending the president opposes.
Kent Smetters, the faculty director for the Penn Wharton Budget Model, said there is a well-worn truth that presidential budgets are "aspirational in nature," and that in the fight to trim spending, there are always "strong vested interests" for keeping federal funds intact.
To arrive at the preliminary budget estimates, the Times analyzed spending across the 11 appropriations bills adopted by Congress, primarily using early data provided by Democrats on the Senate Appropriations Committee and outside groups. A final, 12th bill, covering homeland security, has not yet passed.
Top Republican appropriators did not respond to requests for comment.
The analysis focused primarily on domestic spending, not defense, which Trump has increased. He secured some of that military funding as part of his tax legislation, which was paid for in part by cutting benefits in programs such as Medicaid and food stamps.
The White House said it has changed the nation's fiscal trajectory. The administration has moved to close entire agencies and revoke billions in spending previously authorized by Congress, including rescinding about $14 billion that lawmakers approved for foreign aid and public broadcasting last year.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.