President Donald Trump speaks in the Rose Garden at the White House on Friday, Feb. 15, 2019 in Washington, D.C.Photo: Washington Post photo by Jabin Botsford
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump proposed a $4.7 trillion budget plan Monday that stands as a sharp challenge to Congress and the Democrats trying to unseat him, the first act in a multi-front struggle over the role of government that's set to consume Washington for the next 18 months.
The budget proposal dramatically raises the possibility of another government shutdown in October, with the inclusion of an additional $8.6 billion to build sections of a wall along the U. S.-Mexico border. Trump's ask for yet more wall money - beyond the spending he is seeking under a "national emergency" declaration at the border - infuriated Democrats.
The budget also calls for a significant increase in military spending, causing problems with some Republicans who are uneasy about how it is allocated. If lawmakers and Trump don't reach a spending agreement by the end of September, many government operations will ground to a halt.