Trump Seeks 5% Budget Cuts From Cabinet Agencies

‘Get rid of the fat,’ president says; federal deficit widened to $779 billion last year after GOP tax cut

Siobhan Hughes and

Richard Rubin

Updated Oct. 17, 2018 4:29 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON—President Trump on Wednesday asked his cabinet members to find ways to cut their department budgets by 5% next year, targeting government spending after an official tally showed Republicans’ tax cuts drove the federal budget deficit to its widest level in six years.

“Get rid of the fat. Get rid of the waste,” Mr. Trump said in a cabinet meeting. “It’ll have a huge impact.”

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