PRESIDENT TRUMP on Monday proposed a $4.7 trillion budget for 2019-2020 (Shutterstock).

A budget of $4.7 trillion was proposed Monday by President Donald Trump. The proposal calls for an additional $8.6 billion to be spent on a border wall between the United States and Mexico.

The budget for 2019-2020 would include cuts in non-defense spending, as well as increases in funding for the military. Financial estimates indicate that such a budget would not balance for another 15 years, even if the economy remained strong.

Specifically, Trump is requesting a 5 percent increase in money for the Department of Defense, with $2.7 billion in reductions for the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Education and Department of State. Additional this proposal would reduce Medicare spending by $845 billion over a 10-year-period.

With the Democrats in control of the House of Representatives, the budget – as presented – is unlikely to pass without significant changes.

Speaker Pelosi won’t back impeachment

NANCY PELOSI, Speaker of the House of Representatives (Wikipedia photo).

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is opposed to impeaching President Trump, saying in an interview published Monday in the Washington Post that “He’s just not worth it.”  She prefaced that by saying “Impeachment is so divisive to the country that unless there’s something compelling and bipartisan, I don’t think we should go down that path.”

Under the U.S. Constitution, the process of removing a president or other high federal officer has two parts. Impeachment is the accusation of misconduct, and is decided by the House of Representatives, currently controlled by the Democrats. That is followed by a trial in the Senate, currently controlled by the Republicans. Two-thirds of the Senate must vote to convict to remove the accused from office.

Only two presidents – Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton – have been impeached and both were acquitted.