The White House is currently seeking an additional $200 billion for the ongoing war in Iran, a request that comes with reports that President Trump has spent over $100 million on golf trips since his return to office. That is an insane amount of money, but it gets worse when you consider the fact that the Trump Administration cut cancer research by calling it ‘wasteful spending.’
According to Huffpost, Trump’s golf habit has now cost taxpayers at least $101.2 million in travel and security expenses since his return to office. This figure is already two-thirds of his entire first-term golf total, putting him on track to spend $300 million by the end of his second term. Jordan Libowitz from the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington criticized this spending.
He explained that “at a time when gas prices are spiking and Americans across the country find themselves in an ever-worsening affordability crisis, the president has burned through over $100 million in taxpayer money in order to make promotional appearances at his golf courses and hobnob with millionaires and billionaires.” As soon as the report came out, California Governor Gavin Newsom hit out at the president, pointing out what he sees as a serious lack of priorities.
Golf trips are Trump’s ‘Executive Time’
What is interesting is that Trump often criticized President Obama’s golf outings, promising in his first campaign that he’d be too busy to play golf. Obama primarily played at Joint Base Andrews, a short motorcade ride from the White House, while Trump’s trips often involve Air Force One as he travels to courses across the country.
Then there is the Pentagon’s insane $200 billion military funding request to replenish ammunition and supplies, particularly those used in the conflict and provided to Ukraine. What is crazier is that this $200 billion is on top of the Department of Defense’s annual budget of $838.7 billion. Additionally, the Pentagon reported that the Iran war cost the U.S. $11.3 billion in just its first week. So you have to wonder if their request would even be sufficient.
These numbers become horrifying when you compare them to cuts made in programs for the country’s good, like the cuts to critical cancer research. Per Stat News, the Republican-led Congress has slashed the budget for the Defense Health Research Consortium by a staggering 57%. Half of the funds this program receives is dedicated to cancer research. Congressional documents have confirmed that the total reduction to cancer research amounts to $192.5 million.
Many in the cancer field, including researchers, clinicians, and patients, describe these cuts, delays, and policy changes as “devastating.” Historically, cancer research held a near-sacred, bipartisan spot in American biomedical enterprise. Now, departments have shuttered experiments and implemented hiring freezes, leading to clinical trial stoppages for patients who often rely on them for treatment.
As a part of these cuts, the government pulled $190 million in funding from childhood cancer research, as a part of Musk’s push against wasteful spending with DOGE.
Published: Mar 31, 2026 05:55 am