Winners and losers of the spending deal (spoiler alert: Trump lost)

By Thomas Kaplan, New York Times News Service

Tuesday, May 2, 2017 | 2 a.m.

WASHINGTON — In the early days of the Donald Trump presidency, Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill have not agreed on much. But they have come together to keep the government open for the next several months.

The more than $1 trillion spending deal that congressional leaders reached Sunday was an act of compromise, a rarity in a highly polarized Congress.

But that was the easy part. The fiscal year is more than half over, and the new spending package — which must still be approved by lawmakers — covers only the next five months. A bigger fight awaits as the year goes on and Trump tries to put his imprint on the budget for the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.

Here is a look at some winners and losers in the current spending deal.

Loser: President Trump

The Trump administration has little to brag about in this deal. The agreement provides an additional $15 billion in military spending, but that is only half what Trump had sought.

The White House budget director, Mick Mulvaney, argued Monday afternoon that Republicans scored some important wins in the budget deal.

“I saw how the Democrats thought they did a great job and how they think we didn’t,” he said. “I think it’s great that the Democrats like the bill. That’s fantastic. We thought it was a really good deal for this administration as well.”

The Trump administration called for $18 billion in cuts to domestic programs. Lawmakers were not receptive, and their response provides a preview of how members of Congress from both parties might respond as Trump presses for bigger cuts in the 2018 budget.

Consider the fate of the National Institutes of Health. The Trump administration sought a $1.2 billion reduction in funding for the agency for the current fiscal year, but congressional negotiators ended up agreeing on a $2 billion increase.

Winner: Congressional Democrats

Consigned to the minority and still processing their grief over the presidential election, Democrats in Congress entered this year in a fairly bleak state. But spending measures are one area where they can still exert considerable influence even while in the minority.

Democrats emerged from the spending talks with a respectable list of victories, including providing funds for Puerto Rico’s Medicaid program as well as for costs incurred by local law enforcement — like the New York Police Department — to protect Trump and his family. But even more significantly, the Democrats were able to push back on Trump.

Loser: Border wall builders

Few campaign promises have been as central and as polarizing as Trump’s oft-repeated vow to build a wall along the border with Mexico, which he insisted Mexico would pay for.

Trump had wanted money in the spending deal to go toward the wall, but he eventually backed down from that demand — a crucial concession that helped smooth the path for congressional negotiators completing the spending deal. (The agreement does include more funding for border security.)

Trump insists he will build his wall, meaning that lawmakers are likely to face pressure to come up with funding.

Winner: Coal miners

A standoff over health care for retired coal miners raised the prospect of a government shutdown in December. Ultimately, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and other Democrats backed down, and the lights stayed on.

But Manchin and others vowed to continue their fight. The agreement reached by lawmakers includes a permanent extension of health benefits for retired miners who faced losing their health coverage, a victory for Manchin; Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the Senate majority leader; and other lawmakers from coal states.

Winner: Planned Parenthood

Despite the desire of congressional Republicans to cut off federal funds to Planned Parenthood, the spending package spares the organization.