[pg_bot]

Here is an article that details the donations.[0] So far it has been 100K checks given to a different federal agency quarterly. He has donated to the National Parks Service, Department of Education, Health and Human Services, and the Department of Transportation.

[0] https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2018...

[nkristoffersen]

How much has the trump administration reduced the budget for these agencies?

[dantheman]

Reducing the budget and donating are two very different things and not even cross purpose. You may believe that we have to reign in spending -- we do spend more than we take in. It may make sense to cut programs you like to fund ones that are important, and then donate money to the one you just cut -- because you like it.

Now... I don't believe this is what's happening.

[pg_bot]

There is some nuance that needs to be discussed before I answer your question.

The executive branch does not have the power of appropriation, that duty is handled by congress. The president does submit a budget request to congress, and signs or vetoes each distinct appropriation bill that congress passes.

Increases or decreases of a department's budget can not be unilaterally seen as good or bad. What taxpayers should be most concerned about is the impact that the spending is having not the dollar amount spent. (Plato taught Socrates on a rock) You need to look at trends over time and the specifics of the budget to see if increases or decreases in spending are justified. For example the department of education's budget was 73.3 billion dollars in 2010. In 2014 that figure was 40.8 billion. In 2018 it will be 66.9 billion. At the surface those swings seem quite surprising. You have to dig deeper to understand what really happened instead of taking them at face value.

The Washington post has an article exploring Trump's proposed 2019 budget. You can view that article here:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/politics/trump-...

[fencepost]

Thanks for the link, but I note that it reports on what the White House says is being donated. Is there any available verification of actual numbers? Given past history I wouldn't trust Trump's self reporting of charitable or similar donations until the check cleared with independent verification from the recipients - and unless it was a money order I'd probably want a month or two extra before believing it had really cleared.

Edit: for anyone who feels this is unjustified, I would love to see links to charitable organizations confirming receipt of donations from the president or the Trump Organization. Direct from the charity, confirmation to reputable news organizations, responses in interviews, anything like that - I don't want things excluded on technicalities.

[pg_bot]

I mean there are press conferences where his press secretary is literally handing over a check to the head of the respective agency.

[0]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZkLEmJvDjQ

[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jr8li6hpC2s

[2]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ftt_y__EP7w

[3]: https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4714620/trump-donates-4thq-sa...

[ceejayoz]

Trump has used fake props before: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-tru...

[fencepost]

Perhaps so, but I'll agree with pg_bot - there actually are times when he's followed through on donations. I'm not sure what percentage of his promised donations they are, but he has donated at least some of the money he's pledged to.