By Stephen Witt
U.S. Reps. Julia Brownley (D-Westlake Village, Agoura Hills, Calabasas), Norma Torres (D-Pomona, La Verne, San Dimas), and Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park, Alhambra, San Gabriel, Pasadena) today ripped President Donald Trump’s proposal to slash discretionary spending for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 as a war on America’s working class and a giveaway to the rich.
The White House released Trump’s recommendations on Friday. They included spending $163 billion on discretionary funding for FY 2026, or 22.6% below the current year’s spending. However, the recommendations proposed a 13 percent increase, or $1.01 trillion, on defense spending and a larger increase to $175 billion for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
In the US federal budget, discretionary funding levels refer to the amount of money Congress appropriates annually for various federal programs, agencies, and activities. This is distinct from mandatory spending, which is governed by law and doesn’t require annual approval.
“Let’s be clear: this isn’t a budget — it’s a declaration of war on working families. Republicans want to gut the programs that keep our kids in school, our families healthy, and our communities safe — just to bankroll tax cuts for billionaires and Trump’s MAGA cronies. Even by their own math, the Trump-Musk budget slashes $163 billion from domestic investments — a brutal 23% cut,” said Torres.
Brownley said Trump’s devastating budget strips people of America’s promise.
“It tears teachers and resources out of classrooms, medicine out of clinics, meals off the tables of kids and seniors, and housing away from families struggling to stay afloat – all to bankroll a government that protects the powerful and punishes everyone else,” said Brownley.
Chu noted her congressional district is still reeling from the devastation of January’s Eaton Fires, which claimed 18 lives, burned more than 14,000 acres, destroyed over 9,500 structures, and displaced 20,000 people.
“In the wake of such tragedy, it is unfathomable that Trump is asking Congress to gut critical funding for education, housing, and environmental programs at the same time that Congressional Republicans prepare to cut Medicaid and deliver massive tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy,” said Chu.
Along with releasing the discretionary spending recommendations, the White House produced a table of spending cuts to what the administration labels “woke programs”.
Specific to Los Angeles County this included a $2 million Department of Justice (DOJ) Grant cut to the county toward “healing centered-community violence intervention[s]” to “advance equity and address mental health stigma”; and $200,000 to an organization for services that include “gender affirming medical care.”
The proposal also eliminated a $6.7 million Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) housing grant to Los Angeles County to conduct an “Equity Audit” and reverse “land use patterns that have roots in systemically racist policies.”
While neither Brownley nor Torres commented on the specifics of these cuts, they both saw the discretionary cuts as a step backward in making America great again.
“This budget turns its back on our core values, from scientific progress and innovation to the right to an education and access to healthcare. It abandons the fundamental belief that government should work for the people, not against them. This budget is a betrayal of the American people, and I’ll keep fighting to make sure it never becomes reality,” said Brownley.
“These aren’t just numbers on a page — they’re programs that families in the Inland Empire rely on to make ends meet. Meanwhile, Republicans want to gut $880 billion from Medicaid, raid Social Security, and permanently freeze over $400 billion owed to the American people. All to protect yacht-buying tax breaks? Not on my watch,” said Torres.
Chu noted that Trump’s proposal is just that and that Congress holds the purse strings to budget matters.
“The Constitution gives Congress the power of the purse, not the President, and I will urge my colleagues to request the Trump administration’s dangerous budget request and to instead fight for the programs our communities rely on to rebuild and thrive. We only need a handful of Republicans to reject this harmful agenda and I hope they find the courage to do so,” said Chu.
