Mike Hersh, PDA Communications Director
Mike’s views are his own and don’t necessarily represent PDA’s official positions

A Brutal Budget: Who Gets Hurt?

Donald Trump proposed a federal budget that is as cruel as it is calculated; it would deepen inequality, gut social programs, and reward the ultra-rich. As passed by the Republican led House, it would slash funding for Medicaid and Medicare, food assistance, environmental protection, and other programs that keep people alive. Call your representative and both of your senators. Demand they publicly oppose and vote against Trump’s brutal budget.

Call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard: (202) 224-3121. Once connected:

• Ask to speak with the staffer working on budgetary issues.
• Leave a voice mail if they’re not available or during off hours.
• Identify yourself as a constituent, giving your street address.
• Say this cruel budget will kill innocent Americans and must be voted down.

Tell them it would endanger our elders, our children, and our nation. As the Center for Nonprofit Excellence reports:

President Trump’s newly released Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 “skinny” budget outlines sweeping federal spending cuts that would deeply impact public services and nonprofit organizations. The proposal calls for a 22.6% ($163 billion) reduction in domestic discretionary spending, while increasing defense funding by 13%. The budget slashes critical programs in education, housing, environmental protection, public health, and more, while openly targeting nonprofit institutions as “wasteful” and ideologically driven. If enacted, these cuts could have severe consequences for vulnerable communities across the country. [Emphasis in original]

This budget is an attack on working families and vulnerable communities across the country. If the Senate passes Trump’s proposals, already rubber stamped by the House, it would slash Medicaid by hundreds of billions of dollars, denying health care to disabled people, pregnant people, and low-income families. It would squander a record one trillion dollars on military spending and at least an additional 5.3 trillion dollars on massive, costly giveaways to billionaires and corporations.

Cruel cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) would put 40 million Americans at risk of hunger, including millions of children. Meanwhile, corporations and plutocrats would pocket huge tax giveaways. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities:

The budget sets up a shocking $5.3 trillion in tax cuts or more, mostly occurring over nine years since most of the 2017 tax cuts do not expire until 2026. That is $1.5 trillion more than the cost of the expiring 2017 tax cuts Senate Republicans are seeking to extend. And the $5.3 trillion figure could go still higher if Republicans cut Medicaid or other supports low-income families need that are under the jurisdiction of the Senate Finance Committee.

Top 20 Reasons Congress Should Oppose the Trump Budget

The Trump’s budget is not “One Big Beautiful Bill” as he would have us believe. It’s a meat ax aimed at the heart of the U.S. economy and society. Elon Musk and others object to the provision that “would increase the federal debt limit by $4 trillion.” (Al Jazeera). Here are 19 additional reasons senators should vote against Trump’s budget:

1. Significant Reductions in Foreign Aid: An $8.3 billion cut to USAID would undermine global development and diplomatic efforts. (Axios)
2. Increased National Deficit: The CBO projects the budget would add $3.8 trillion to the national debt. (Reuters)
3. Elimination of Food Assistance Programs: Ending the Commodity Supplemental Food Program would harm low-income seniors. (FRAC)
4. Cuts to Science and Research Funding: Reductions to NIH, CDC, and NSF would harm public health and innovation. (Science)
5. Reduction in Non-Defense Discretionary Spending: $163 billion in cuts from education, housing, and medical research. (Reuters)
6. Increased Fees for Legal Immigrants: Higher fees and reduced benefits for lawful immigrants. (NPR)
7. Job Losses in Federal Agencies: Illegal layoffs of federal workers would disrupt essential services. (CBPP)
8. Reduced Support for Disaster Preparedness: FEMA cuts would weaken emergency response. (ASTHO)
9. Killing Vulnerable People: Cuts to SNAP and Medicaid would put lives at risk. (Yale Budget Lab)
10. Elimination of Climate Research Funding: NOAA and other agency cuts would end critical research. (NPR)
11. Exacerbating Healthcare Crises: Medicaid cuts would devastate rural health services. (JAMA)
12. Sabotaging Education: Cuts would harm public K–12 and higher education systems. (Reuters)
13. Reduction in Affordable Housing Programs: Housing assistance cuts would worsen homelessness. (NAHRO)
14. Undermine Public Health: Reduced funding increases risk of pandemics. (Harvard SPH)
15. Elimination of Diversity and Inclusion Programs: FEMA programs promoting diversity would be ended. (ASTHO)
16. Potential Negative Economic Impact: The budget could trigger a recession and hurt job growth. (Investment News)
17. Cuts to Environmental Protection Efforts: Rollbacks would worsen pollution impacts. (CNN)
18. Harm Veterans: Despite higher defense spending, services for veterans would be cut. (Reuters)
19. Potential Legal Challenges: The budget may cause costly disruptions and lawsuits. (Axios)

Progressive Alternatives: Prosperity, Not Austerity

Austerity to crush the American Dream isn’t new. In fact, it’s part of a decades-long strategy: slash social spending, inflate deficits with tax giveaways to the rich, then call for more “belt-tightening” that punishes everyday people. From Reagan’s “welfare queens” rhetoric to Paul Ryan’s zombie budget plans, austerity has always been a cudgel. And Donald Trump, despite his populist veneer, is the latest avatar of this scam.

Too many centrist Democrats have gone along with this warped Republican rhetoric in the past. We don’t have to accept this heartless dishonesty anymore. We can fight back with truth, vision, and organizing.

The budget we need isn’t a slaughterhouse of life saving services—it’s a springboard for justice. Progressive Democrats of America (PDA)’s Executive Director Alan Minsky and Professor Harvey J. Kaye drafted a 21st Century Economic Bill of Rights—a highly moral and economically sound blueprint for a better America.

PDA supports progressive federal budget priorities including The People’s Budget (from the Congressional Progressive Caucus), which increases investments in health care, education, clean energy, and infrastructure while taxing Wall Street, the ultra-rich, and polluters. We also support Green New Deal initiatives to create millions of good-paying jobs while addressing the climate crisis.

We demand a government that invests in care, not cuts. Progress, not plutocracy. Trump’s budget is a declaration of war on the poor, the sick, and the planet. But we’ve seen this playbook before, and we know how to beat it.

When we raise our voices, tell our stories, and pressure our senators with unrelenting clarity, we win. Not with compromise. With courage. Will you speak out and stop Trump’s cruel budget before it starves our future?

Raise Your Voice, Flood the Congress

Donald Trump doesn’t get to write this budget alone—Congress does. The House already capitulated to Trump’s cruelty, but the Senate can stop this insanity. And every senator will face a crucial vote in the coming days.

Here’s how you can help defeat this budget before it destroys our families and communities. Call both your senators and demand they publicly oppose and vote against Trump’s brutal budget. Call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard: (202) 224-3121.

Once connected: Ask to speak with the staffer working on budgetary issues. Leave a voice mail if they’re not available or during off hours. Identify yourself as a constituent, giving your street address. Say this cruel budget will kill innocent Americans and must be voted down. Both of your senators must hear from you now, before it’s too late!

Other things you can do:

• Organize or attend a local “Budget Drop-In” at your senator’s district office.
• Volunteer with PDA’s Phone Team to call fellow constituents in key states and get them involved.
• Share your story on social media and tag your senators. Tell the world how this budget would hurt your family and community.
• Donate to PDA to empower our outreach, direct actions, and lobbying.