Originally published on 4/6/26

President Donald Trump recently unveiled his 2027 budget, which included a $1.5 trillion defense spending proposal—a 42 percent increase from 2026. To help fund the increase, the President suggested cutting nondefense program spending by $73 billion, or 10 percent. These proposals were met with considerable backlash from Americans and lawmakers, including Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, who told NBC News’ Meet The Press host Kristen Welker, “We have a lot of questions to ask, and the administration has a whole lot of explaining to do.” Below we share everything you need to know about the budget, including whether Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and the Department of Veterans Affairs are included in the cuts.

What to know about President Trump’s new 2027 budget 

Last week, President Trump unveiled his 92-page 2027 budget. In it, he proposed an increase in defense and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spending. He also outlined how he plans to fund his new “Golden Dome”—a hemispheric shield that would block hypersonic missiles, nuclear weapons and more, even if they come from outer space. This project was originally announced back in 2025 and is expected to cost $185 billion. 

The budget also established how he would fund the creation of 18 battle force ships and 16 nonbattle force ships—which he is calling “Trump’s Golden Fleet”—and a new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered weapons system. There was also a proposed 7 percent pay increase for military personnel ranked E-5 and below, a proposed 6 percent increase for E-6 to O-3 and a proposed 5 percent raise for O-4 and above in the 92-page document. 

“This amount exceeds even the [Ronald] Reagan buildup by approaching the historic increases just prior to World War II, a level that recognizes the current global threat environment and restores the readiness and lethality of our forces,” a White House summary of the military portion of the budget proposal reads.

Along with those funding increases, the 2027 budget also includes  proposed cuts—mainly to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Labor Department, the National Institutes of Health, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Department of Energy. Several programs, such as housing programs for individuals with AIDS, Native Americans and Native Hawaiians, employment help for seniors, food-assistance programs like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and homeless-assistance programs will lose funding in 2027 if Congress approves Trump’s budget without any corrections. 

“The proposed budget calls for increasing defense spending while pulling back sharply on domestic programs,” Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, told Newsweek. “The three biggest areas to watch are defense, domestic services and the deficit outlook, all of which are moving in very different directions.”

Will Medicare and Social Security be affected by President Trump’s new 2027 budget? 

As the budget stands now, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and VA benefits will not be affected by the 2027 budget. This news about cuts was welcomed by Americans, since days prior President Trump threatened to cut federal funding for Medicare, Medicaid and daycare to help fund the war in Iran.  

“We can balance the budget. We can have a surplus if you can stop that. And that does not include Medicare, Medicaid—that’s even bigger,” the president told an audience at a White House Easter lunch last week. “We can’t take care of daycare. You got to let a state take care of daycare. And they should pay for it, too. They should pay. They’ll have to raise their taxes, but they should pay for it. And we could lower our taxes a little bit to make up for it. It’s not possible for us to take care of daycare, Medicaid, Medicare—all these individual things. They can do it on a state basis. You can’t do it on a federal [level]. We have to take care of one thing: military protection. We have to guard the country.” 

Even without cuts, experts are warning that the budget could do more harm than good, especially since many of these government-funded programs are expected to run out of funding within the next 10 years. 

“Trump’s 2027 budget says it won’t touch Social Security or Medicare benefits. That’s technically true for right now. But here’s what matters: the underlying math is breaking down,” finance expert Michael Ryan, founder of MichaelRyanMoney.com, told Newsweek.  “Social Security and Medicare are funded by dedicated payroll taxes. Cut those taxes, and you starve the trust funds. Independent analyses show recent tax cuts have erased years of solvency from Medicare’s Hospital Insurance fund. We’re now looking at exhaustion in 2040 instead of 2052. That’s not a talking point. That’s arithmetic.”

“This budget protects today’s promises while making tomorrow’s problems worse,” he continued. “Current retirees get breathing room. Future retirees get a bill they didn’t vote for.” 

What happens next

Since the budget is for 2027, it should come as no surprise that the proposed budget should go into effect that same year. But before that can happen, both the Senate and the House of Representatives have to approve it. 

Currently, Congress is working on a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which would end the longest partial government shutdown in history, so it’s unclear when they will discuss Trump’s budget. When they do, lawmakers are expected to push back on many of the proposals, with New York Congressman Mike Lawler telling NBC News’ Meet The Press, “The administration released its budget. That is not going to be the final budget or appropriations numbers.” 

Link to original: https://www.womansworld.com/life/money/trump-announces-2027-budget-social-security-impact-explained