It doesn’t have to be this way. Alternative investments that build a more secure and equitable society for everyone are necessary and possible.

Here are ten programs President Trump has cut (or threatened to cut) that we could save for about $45 million or less.trill

Today, President Trump revealed the broad strokes of his budget request to Congress for 2026. This request does not meet the nation’s needs. 

Tonight President Trump will address Congress, and who knows what he’ll say. But it’s easy to get too swept up in what he says. Instead, watch what he does.  

If some theoretical well-meaning person or effort were looking for ways to save taxpayer dollars, Pentagon contracts would be the place to start. Musk has set his team of DOGE destroyers on agencies from USAID to the Department of Education - both of which are puny compared to Pentagon contracts. 

In recent days, President Trump has promised that Musk would soon turn to the Pentagon. But if saving money were really the goal, the Pentagon’s contracts, worth $414 billion in FY 2022, would have been the most logical place to start. 

With big publicity around efforts to cut government spending, we’ll find out whether the incoming administration and Congress are willing to hold the Pentagon accountable. 

While the larger budgets makes some important strides forward, this discretionary proposal won’t provide security we need, in terms of costs of living, quality of life, climate change, or securing peace.

The $118 billion bill that Senate leaders put forward this week is a deal that never should have been made. 

There is an entity whose job it is to prevent this sort of abuse: Congress. With each failure at the Pentagon, Congress is failing, too.