The Latest: Trump budget slashes safety-net programs

The Latest on President Donald Trump's budget for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1 (all times local):

9 p.m.

The Trump administration budget would sharply cut safety net programs for the poor.

President Donald Trump is proposing a $4.1 trillion federal budget that targets food stamps and Medicaid. It also relies on rosy projections about economic growth to balance the budget within 10 years.

The cuts are part of a budget blueprint for the upcoming fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. It protects retirement programs for the elderly and provides billions of dollars more for the military. The rest of the government bears the bulk of the reductions.

The plan is outlined in White House summary documents. It will be officially released on Tuesday.

The politically perilous cuts to Medicaid, college loans, food stamps and federal employee pension benefits guarantee Trump's budget won't go far in Congress. That's despite the fact Republicans control both the House and Senate.

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4:30 p.m.

President Donald Trump is proposing to balance the federal budget within a decade by making sharp cuts to social safety-net programs while offering optimistic estimates of economic growth.

Tuesday's budget blueprint faces a skeptical reception from Congress.

Republicans and Democrats oppose Trump proposals to cut domestic agencies and foreign aid by 10 percent. And they are recoiling from a $1.7 trillion cut over the coming decade from mandatory government benefit programs.

The top Senate Democrat, Chuck Schumer of New York, says the only good news about the budget is that it's likely to be roundly rejected by senators in both parties.

A 10-year, $193 billion reduction in food stamps — almost 30 percent — promises to drive millions of people off the program.