Trump Raids Science Fund to Pay Troops, Congress Blinks
On October 15, 2025, the White House budget office channelled its inner history nerd and dropped a five-page memo citing presidents from George Washington's whiskey-fueled 1794 rebellion to JFK's Peace Corps magic trick in 1961, all to justify Trump hijacking 'The Research, Development, Test and Evaluation' fund to pay troops mid-government shutdown. This shutdownâa sitcom ongoing since October 1 thanks to Senate Democrats demanding extended Obamacare freebiesâdidnât stop OMB chief Russ Vought from firing furloughed federal workers and hoarding billions in Democrat-heavy districts. Ex-OMB boss Bobby Kogan labeled Trump the 'appropriations king,' spending illegally like itâs Black Friday without Congressâs blessing. Basically, Trump's turning the U.S. treasury into his mixtape of financial freestyle rap.
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Trumpâs budget memo reads like a history book mashup but with plot twists where he steals science money to pay troops while Senate Democrats hold the government hostage. Appropriations king or reality TV star? Same energy.
Pay troops by robbing researchers? Trumpâs budget plan is basically the tax code version of a heist movie starring Congress as the clueless extras.
OMB Director Russ Vought mustâve majored in creative accounting because turning Peace Corps history and whiskey rebellions into legal spend justification beats any episode of 'Shark Tank.'
Source: Axios | Published: 10/18/2025 | Author: Marc Caputo
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