How Will Trump Pay For His Military Plans? Massive EPA, State Department Cuts In President’s Proposed Budget

President Donald Trump vowed on the campaign trail to strengthen the country’s already mighty military. He put that plan into motion Monday when he announced a proposed $54 billion, or 10 percent, increase of the military’s budget.

But where, exactly, would that rather large increase in spending come from? Currently, it appeared the Trump administration would reduce the State Department and Environmental Protection Agency’s budgets, transferring those funds over to a military that has ranked among the best-funded in the world for decades.

When it comes to limiting funds to the country’s primary diplomatic arms, Republicans have come out in full force to question their president’s aspirations.

“I very much believe we have to have a wide range of tools to advance our national interests, and that includes tools of the State Department, the intelligence community and the Department of Defense, and others," House Armed Services Committee chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) told reporters Wednesday according to Military Times. “Can we spend more foreign aid, more effectively? Absolutely. But we can’t look to the military to do everything that needs to be done.”

The same report indicated that other prominent GOP members have spoken out on Trump’s preliminary plan, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) as well as Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fl.)

Currently, Trump has called for the military to receive $604 billion in the new fiscal year, but at least some it would come at the expense of a 37 percent cut to the State Department. The department previously had a budget of $50.1 billion, a little less than 1 percent of the entire federal budget, the Washington Post reported.

The potential cuts to the EPA wouldn’t be as drastic, percentage-wise, but can still reach into the double-digits. A number of the agencies programs could be slashed as Trump is reportedly considering a 24 percent total reduction of the EPA’s budget as well as a 20 percent cut in staffing, CNN reported Thursday, citing a source with access to the Office of Management and Budget proposal.