White House issues gag order to officials on budget details

WASHINGTON — The Trump White House is instructing Cabinet heads and agency officials what to tell and not tell Congress about the last week’s proposed budget.

The order by White House budget director Mick Mulvaney says administration officials should not provide any further details about the budget plan beyond what was in the 53-page document. The budget traded a $54 billion boost for the military for crushing cuts to domestic programs like medical research, community development, foreign aid, and a slew of other programs.

Mulvaney said in a memo to department and agency heads that they should not make “commitments about specific programs” or provide further detail about cuts to programs that went unmentioned in last week’s summary budget, which glossed over many of the most politically difficult details.