Inside Trump's Budget plan: Border crackdown, defence surge, and big cuts

New legislation proposes $150 billion in defence spending, funds for Trump's border wall, deep cuts to student loans and federal pensions, and expanded drilling on public lands

House Republicans have proposed a sweeping legislative package proposing hundreds of billions in new spending and policy overhauls spanning immigration, defence, education, and energy. 

The Homeland Security Committee approved $69 billion in new spending focused largely on immigration enforcement and border security. The bill includes $46.5 billion to restart construction of President Donald Trump’s US-Mexico border wall, with plans for 700 miles of “primary” wall, 900 miles of river barriers, and more. 

To strengthen staffing, the proposal sets aside $4 billion to hire 3,000 additional Border Patrol agents and 5,000 new customs officers. Another $2.1 billion is designated for recruitment and retention bonuses. 

 

A separate provision aims to drastically reshape immigration policy. Migrants seeking asylum would be charged a $1,000 application fee — a move that would place the US alongside countries like Australia and Iran that impose similar charges. 

Other new fees include $3,500 for those sponsoring unaccompanied minors, $2,500 penalties for sponsors who fail to show up for court dates, and a $1,000 fee for individuals paroled into the country. The plan envisions removing one million immigrants annually and expanding detention capacity to house 100,000 individuals. It also calls for hiring 10,000 additional Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and investigators.   

 

  Furthermore, applicants with homes valued above $1 million would become ineligible for Medicaid under the proposed changes.

 

Defence budget surges with missile shield and troop support

The House Armed Services Committee overshot its initial $100 billion mandate, approving a $150 billion increase in defence and national security funding. Among the most notable items is $25 billion earmarked for Trump’s long-envisioned missile defence initiative, dubbed the “Golden Dome for America”. 

The plan also includes $21 billion to replenish the nation’s ammunition supplies, $34 billion to expand the navy’s shipbuilding efforts, and $5 billion for border-related security initiatives. 

In addition, $9 billion is allocated to improve the quality of life for service members, with funding for housing, healthcare, and special pay adjustments.

 

Student loan repayment system overhaul

One of the most far-reaching components of the package is a proposed revamp of the student loan repayment system, projected to generate $330 billion in budget savings. 

The measure would eliminate all existing repayment plans, replacing them with just two options: a standard plan with fixed monthly payments over 10 to 25 years, and an income-based “repayment assistance” plan. Compared to current programmes, the latter would be less generous, requiring higher minimum payments from low-income borrowers and extending loan forgiveness to 30 years instead of the current 20 to 25 years. The changes would take effect in July 2026. 

The bill also seeks to undo Biden-era policies that allowed loan cancellations for students whose colleges closed or misled them.

 

Federal worker pension cuts proposed

To reduce the deficit, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has proposed cutting federal employee retirement benefits, aiming to save $50.9 billion over the next decade. 

The proposal would require pre-2014 federal hires to contribute more to their pensions, matching the 4.4 per cent rate paid by employees hired since 2014. It would also base retirement annuities on a worker’s five highest-earning years rather than the top three. 

Another proposed cut includes eliminating supplemental payments to federal workers who retire before they qualify for Social Security.

 

Expanded resource extraction and public land sales

The legislation includes provisions to significantly increase resource extraction on federal lands. It would ease restrictions on drilling, mining, and logging by expediting government approvals and slashing royalty rates for oil, gas, and coal production.

Oil and gas royalties on federal lands would drop from 16.7 per cent to 12.5 per cent, and from 18.75 per cent to 12.5 per cent offshore. Coal royalties would fall from 12.5 per cent to 7 per cent. 

The measure mandates four oil and gas lease sales in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge over the next ten years and opens 6,250 sq miles — an area larger than Connecticut — for coal leasing. 

Republicans argue that these changes will spur development and offset lost revenues, though it remains unclear whether energy companies will show renewed interest amid a shift to renewables. 

In a last-minute addition, GOP lawmakers included a controversial provision to authorise the sale of vast swaths of public land in Nevada and Utah. The move drew sharp criticism from Democrats and environmentalists, reigniting a longstanding debate over land use in the Western US.

 

[With AP inputs]