President Donald Trump announced his proposed budget today, calling for roughly $163 billion in cuts to non-defense-related funds.
Among the cuts, which would kick in for the year starting in October if approved by Congress, are major health cutbacks, slashing the Centers for Disease Control Centers' budget in more than half, "streamlining" financial assistance to high-poverty schools, and cuts to federal safety net programs.
Instead of touching the Pentagon's enormous military expenditures, though, Trump is considering increasing the Department of Defense's budget to a whopping $1.01 trillion, up 13 percent year over year.
Unsurprisingly, one of Trump's closest allies, billionaire Elon Musk, will get by largely scot-free. The richest man in the world, who has personally contributed to the gutting of agencies with the help of his so-called Department of Government Efficiency, will more than likely continue to benefit from cushy government contracts awarded to his businesses.
Last month, Senate Democrats found that his companies face upwards of $2.37 billion in legal exposure from federal investigations, indicating an astronomical conflict of interest.
Case in point, while NASA's budget would be cut 24 percent, Trump proposed the introduction of $1 billion in new investments to send humans to Mars, highlighting the president's pledge to "plant a flag" on the Red Planet, as the New York Times reports. Such an endeavor also happens to be extremely beneficial to Musk, who plans to use his heavy lift launch vehicle, called Starship, to do just that.
SpaceX could also greatly benefit from Trump's plan to deploy a "Golden Dome for America." Last month, Reuters reported that Musk's space firm was the frontrunner to build the missile shield, a joint effort with startups Palmer Luckey's Anduril and Peter Thiel's Palantir that would involve armed satellites ready to blast enemy warheads from the sky.
Given Trump's willingness to go to bat for Musk's ailing businesses, the proposed budget and its carveouts for the billionaire shouldn't come as a surprise.
The president has personally shilled the offerings of Musk's carmaker Tesla in front of the White House, showing he's willing to go far to line the pockets of his billionaire frenemy.
Meanwhile, Musk's own attempts to rip apart the government's budget have proven disastrous, falling extremely short of his original promise to cut $2 trillion.
What Congress will think of Trump's latest proposed budget remains to be seen. Considering even Republican lawmakers have balked at some of these changes, the budget will likely see plenty of amendments before being ratified.
Experts are already worried that Trump's budget could be a calamitous moment for a government that's already being stripped for parts.
"It is impossible to achieve cuts that large without obliterating core government functions," Center for American Progress senior director of budget policy Bobby Kogan told USA Today.
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