Budgeting in the Trump Years: 2018 and 2025

ABSTRACT The Trump administration produced federal budget proposals in both FY 2018 and FY 2025 under unified Republican control. The first prioritized tax cuts and deregulation, while the second also emphasized restraint and discretionary discipline. These budgets served less as a vehicle for fiscal alignment than as an instrument for maintaining existing commitments. The FY 2025 budget resolution—initiated by the House, not the executive branch—reaffirmed Trump‐era tax policies without addressing rising entitlement or interest obligations. Reconciliation, once a mechanism for fiscal correction, was narrowly scoped or deferred altogether. The result was a budget process oriented toward preservation rather than adaptation.