The Trump budget calls for historic cuts to domestic funding
Base nondefense discretionary budget authority as a percentage of GDP
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Notes: Figures do not include Veterans Affairs medical care funding. Figures reflect the “base” amounts under current congressional concepts. Figures are presented gross of savings from CHIMPs (CHanges In Mandatory Programs). Due to data limitations, data prior to fiscal year 1991 do not use current congressional concepts of base amounts and instead show total amounts of nondefense discretionary funding excluding Veterans Affairs medical care. The author used fiscal year 1986 as the starting year in this graph because it was the first year of coordinated bipartisan leadership attempts to constrain government spending.
Source: U.S. Office of Management and Budget, "Budget of the U.S. Government" (Washington: 2026); Congressional Budget Office, personal communication with author via email and phone, 2014-2026; House Appropriations Committee staff, personal communication with author via email and phone, 2018-2026, on file with author; U.S. Office of Management and Budget, “FY 2017 President's Budget Briefing Book - Summary Tables” (Washington: 2016), on file with author; U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, “Table 1.1.5. Gross Domestic Product” (last accessed April 2026); Congressional Budget Office, “The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2026 to 2036” (Washington: 2026).Chart: Bobby Kogan Notes: Figures do not include Veterans Affairs medical care funding. Figures reflect the “base” amounts under current congressional concepts. Figures are presented gross of savings from CHIMPs (CHanges In Mandatory Programs). Due to data limitations, data prior to fiscal year 1991 do not use current congressional concepts of base amounts and instead show total amounts of nondefense discretionary funding excluding Veterans Affairs medical care. The author used fiscal year 1986 as the starting year in this graph because it was the first year of coordinated bipartisan leadership attempts to constrain government spending.