Schumer: Trump budget a 'gut punch' to families

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) on Friday slammed President Trump’s 2026 budget, which would make substantial cuts across government, as a “gut punch” to families.

“Donald Trump’s days of pretending to be a populist are over. His policies are nothing short of an all out assault on hardworking Americans,” Schumer said in his statement.

“As he guts healthcare, slashes education and hollows out programs families rely on — he’s bankrolling tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations. It’s not just fiscally irresponsible, it’s a betrayal of working people from a morally bankrupt president,” Schumer said in the release from his office.

He described the plan as a “gut punch to American families.”

The president’s budget would cut nondefense discretionary spending by $163 billion, or 22.6 percent, and increase defense spending by 13 percent. It would cut the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by $3.5 billion and education spending by $12 billion.

It also calls for $175 billion in funding for the Department of Homeland Security to step up the pace of deportations and secure the border.

The proposal faces strong opposition from Democrats on Capitol Hill.

“Democrats are going to fight this heartless budget with everything we’ve got and if Congressional Republicans actually cared about American families, they’d join us,” Schumer said in his statement.