Out with the “woke” and in with the weaponry: President Trump asked Congress to approve a $2.2 trillion budget for fiscal 2027 that would boost military spending to $1.5 trillion while slashing funding for domestic federal programs across housing, education, small business, and other areas deemed “woke, weaponized, and wasteful,” the White House said yesterday.

Note: This is just a proposal, as only Congress can set the annual budget. Last time around, lawmakers gave the military a fiscal boost, but largely rebuffed Trump’s efforts to cut domestic spending. It’s more like a gauge of the White House’s priorities than a prophecy.

The $1.5 trillion defense budget…would be 42% more than the Pentagon’s current allotment. That represents the biggest single-year increase in military spending since World War II. The funds are meant to cover more munitions and ships, higher servicemember salaries, and a missile defense system inspired by Israel’s Iron Dome.

Trump is also seeking:

• An increase of $28.5 billion for immigration enforcement.
• $10 billion for beautification projects in Washington, DC.
• $150 million to rebuild Alcatraz as a working prison.

Meanwhile, on the chopping block…

Trump’s proposal would cut nonmilitary programs by 10% ($73 billion) to ~$660 billion.

Hardest hit: Funding would decrease by 67% for the Small Business Administration and by 52% for the EPA. The proposed budget would also downsize FEMA and…

• Redirect $15 billion in renewable energy and clean air initiatives to fossil fuels and AI supercomputers.
• Slash Education Department programs for minority-focused institutions (e.g., HBCUs).
• Decrease Department of Health and Human Services spending by 12.5% and eliminate NIH divisions that research transgender health and racial health disparities.
• Cut NASA funding by 23%.

“We’re fighting wars. We can’t take care of daycare,” Trump said at a private White House event this week. “It’s not possible for us to take care of daycare, Medicaid, Medicare—all these individual things,” he said. “They can do it on a state basis.”

Big picture: Fiscal watchdogs say Trump’s proposed military budget could tack trillions onto the $39 trillion federal debt, despite his insistence otherwise.—ML

The US added more jobs than expected last month. The Labor Department said yesterday that the US added 178,000 jobs in March, a reversal from February’s 133,000 decline (though the number from February was also revised down by 41,000). Healthcare was the job market’s hero, with the most jobs being added there. The unemployment rate dropped to 4.3%, down from February’s 4.4%, but that partly reflects a shrinking labor force, as some people stopped looking for work. Overall, the labor market got a boost last month, and the jobs report left economists cautiously optimistic.

One crew member rescued after Iran shot down US jet. One of the two crew members of the F-15E fighter jet, which was the first American aircraft shot down in Iran during the war, was rescued alive yesterday, US officials told news outlets. Search-and-rescue efforts for the other aviator continued. Iran was also looking for the crew member and offered civilians a reward for bringing them in alive. Meanwhile, a second American plane was shot down by Iran yesterday, this time an A-10 Thunderbolt (also known as a Warthog). The plane’s pilot was said to be safe, according to the WSJ.

OpenAI exec takes medical leave. Fidji Simo, whose title is CEO, AGI Deployment, and whose job is mostly figuring out how to make OpenAI make money, will be taking several weeks of medical leave. The planned absence comes as OpenAI prepares for an IPO. Simo was instrumental in the company’s decision to purchase the popular tech podcast TBPN this week, despite the company’s recent decision to ditch “side quests”—a move that appears to be about trying to control the narrative around AI, despite the show saying it will remain editorially independent. In other OpenAI exec moves, longtime COO Brad Lightcap is shifting to lead special projects.—AR

Finally, someone’s vacation snaps you actually want to see. The photos above come courtesy of the four astronauts on NASA’s Artemis II rocket aboard the Orion capsule, who are currently on their way to becoming the first humans to reach the moon since 1972. After Wednesday’s launch and a 5-minute, 50-second engine burn on Thursday, they’ve left Earth’s orbit and are on their test flight path.

Monumental journey

The Artemis II flight is historic for many reasons: The crew will travel the farthest distance humans have ever traveled in space, and…it’s the first time someone has had a problem running Microsoft Outlook in space. We also cannot overlook the fact that it’s the first-ever launch with a toilet aboard the spacecraft:

• During the Apollo missions, astronauts had to strap special bags and tubes to themselves every time they had to go. The far-from-perfect process led to a rogue floating turd during the Apollo 10 mission in 1969.
• After six years and nearly $23 million in development…Artemis II’s commode was briefly offline for the first few hours of the mission.
• But the extremely loud space toilet was fully operational by the time the astronauts went to sleep the first night, according to NASA.

Looking ahead…while this flight will complete a moon fly-by, scientists are hoping the mission will lead to a moon landing in 2028.—MM