The confrontation was inevitable. When White House budget director Russell Vought appeared before the House Budget Committee on Wednesday to defend President Trump’s fiscal year 2027 budget, the hearing erupted almost immediately—with protesters ejected from the chamber before Vought could finish his opening statement, and Democratic lawmakers waiting their turn to unload.
The budget at the center of it all proposes $1.5 trillion in total defense spending—a roughly 44% increase over current levels—while cutting nondefense discretionary programs by 10% across the board. In dollar terms, that means a roughly $442 billion increase for the Pentagon, funded in part by reductions to Medicaid, housing assistance, childcare, and home energy aid for low-income seniors—a tradeoff that Democrats called a moral obscenity and Republicans called overdue.
