On February 7, 2025, President Donald Trump took to social media platform Truth Social and disseminated a simple, three-word message: “BALANCED BUDGET!!! DJT.”
While the “Truth” may not contain much substance, it carries considerable weight regarding the future of the United States government’s spending priorities and national debt. Last achieved by former president Bill Clinton in 2001, the idea of a balanced budget has remained a fantasy among civilians, government officials, and fiscal conservatives; however, despite Trump’s promises, the complex financial priorities of Capitol Hill mean that achieving a balanced budget may continue to be merely a memory of the past.
Since the 2024 presidential campaign cycle, Trump has promised to cut “trillions of dollars” of “waste, fraud, and abuse” in the government. However, attempts to promote government efficiency have fallen short and have been minimized by plans for tax cuts and expensive defense initiatives.
DOGE: From Trillions Promised to Just Billions Saved
First pitching the idea in September 2024, Trump has promoted the Department of Government Efficiency, a new federal initiative aimed at identifying and eliminating government waste, as a core component of his plan to minimize federal spending.
“In 2022, fraud and improper payments alone cost Americans an estimated hundreds of billions of dollars, but with our action plan, we will fully eliminate fraud and improper payments within six months,” Trump said in a speech before the Economic Club of New York in September following the endorsement of billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, who initially proposed the idea. “This will save trillions of dollars. It’s massive. For the same service you have right now.”
However, six months into his term, DOGE has failed to cut the trillions Trump has promised—current reports by the agency place savings at $180 billion, with much of the cuts coming from programs like the U.S. Agency for International Development, the National Park Service, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, as well as government grants for health and development initiatives.
Moreover, experts estimate that the Trump Administration has spent $200 billion within his first 100 days, a number that outpaces spending during the same period in nine out of the past ten years. Thus, despite limited progress by DOGE, the financial ambitions of Capitol Hill have minimized efforts thus far to make a significant dent on the national debt.
The “Big, Beautiful Bill”: Spending Priorities Reevaluated
While federal spending in the first 100 days has been nearly unprecedented, efforts by the Trump Administration and Congress are setting the stage for future spending that could only distance policymakers from their goal of reducing the budget deficit. Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill,” signed into law by Trump on July 4, 2025, is poised to restructure the U.S.’s economy and welfare system. While the bill contains widespread cuts to Medicaid and restrictions to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), it also includes nearly $5 trillion in tax cuts and $350 billion in funding to border security; the Budget Lab at Yale notes that the “Big, Beautiful Bill” will “substantially add to the debt and deficit at the same time that it contains relatively few investment-incentivizing provisions.”
While the bill may align with Trump’s promises to strengthen border security and cut taxes, it deviates significantly from his pledge to improve the economy and balance the budget. This was reflected in the dissent among his own party when it came to garnering enough votes to pass it; the vote passed 51-50 in the Senate, requiring vice president JD Vance to step in to break a tie despite the Republican majority, and it passed in the House in a close vote of 218-214.
“What do I tell 663,000 people in two years, three years, when President Trump breaks his promise by pushing them off of Medicaid because the funding's not there anymore?” asked Senator Thom Tillis, one of three Republican Senators to vote against the bill, on the Senate floor.
Tillis’ question echoes the dilemma that dozens of other Republicans who have pledged not to touch Medicaid faced: what’s more important to Republicans on Capitol Hill—preserving key welfare services with the risk of alienating themselves from the GOP base, or breaking promises to constituents and following Trump’s shifting financial priorities in order to remain loyal to their party?
From Social Programs to Parades: What Government Spending is Justifiable?
Despite proposed cuts to social welfare programs that Trump has justified as necessary to save money, he hasn’t been as frugal with other forms of spending. On June 14, 2025, the federal government spent an estimated $25-45 million on a parade commemorating the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. This was the first military parade that has been hosted since 1991. The event also coincided with Trump’s birthday.
While the parade drew widespread dissent in a larger wave of “No Kings” protests that swept across the country, it also served to draw attention to a larger pattern of contradiction among the Trump Administration’s spending priorities. While he has cruised into the presidency with the promise of cutting government waste and has been quick to apply this argument to programs like Medicaid and agencies like the Department of Education, President Trump also didn’t hesitate to spend millions of dollars on a parade involving over 6,500 military personnel and dozens of pieces of military equipment.
From pledges to balance the budget that aren’t reflected in his budgeting plans to money that is spent on patriotic displays instead of welfare programs, Trump’s rhetoric and actions surrounding government spending have presented a murky image of what the federal government truly prioritizes. With current legislative efforts poised to set the U.S. further off track from these goals, Trump risks not just alienating liberals and independents but potentially his own base of supporters amidst unexpected social and economic costs.