President Trump used his State of the Union speech to tout the roaring U.S. economy, and his effort to focus the federal government on protecting the borders and helping its people thrive.
But Trump didn’t mention what has been a Republican priority for years under President Obama: the reduction of the national debt.
Trump also made no mention of the need to cut federal spending, and instead argued that federal spending needs to increase in two areas.
One of those was defense, and he specifically called on Congress to boost the Pentagon’s budget, and eliminate past policy that capped military spending.
“In confronting these dangers, we know that weakness is the surest path to conflict, and unmatched power is the surest means of our defense,” he said. “For this reason, I am asking the Congress to end the dangerous defense sequester and fully fund our great military.”
He also asked Congress to spend $1.5 trillion on new infrastructure projects.
Trump didn’t say how these items might be paid for, but on another big infrastructure project, the border wall, the Trump administration has indicated it wants to use existing funds to pay for that project.
