Updated February 10, 2020 Federal Dismantlement
Major Abuse of Power
Social Safety Net Attacks: Proposed Medicaid Cuts, Social Security Reductions
Trump's first budget proposal, released May 23, 2017, proposed over $3 trillion in safety net cuts over 10 years — including $610 billion in Medicaid cuts through block grant conversion, $193 billion in SNAP cuts, and $64 billion in Social Security disability cuts. The proposals contradicted Trump's repeated campaign promise not to cut Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid. While the budgets were largely dead on arrival in Congress, they represented the administration's stated priorities and established the ideological context for the ACA repeal effort. In February 2020, Trump's budget proposed cutting Social Security disability insurance by $70 billion.