California Democrats tried on Thursday to dissuade Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum from cuts to water infrastructure funding. Instead, they got a clear view of the Trump administration’s priorities.
The water security programs may be working, but budget cuts are more important, Burgum told lawmakers during a House hearing on President Donald Trump’s proposed budget for the Department of the Interior.
“When you’re trying to make the kind of reductions we are against the tremendous budget deficit we have, sometimes even programs that are solid programs end up on the list,” Burgum said. “So, it’s nothing in particular about this program. It’s just trying to find a way to make sure that we do our part overall to help reduce the size and the deficit of the federal budget.”