President Donald Trump has used his first television interview in two months to defend his relationship with Vladimir Putin and argue that the Syria ceasefire was because "President Putin and President Trump made a deal."

Mr Trump, whose White House is reeling from an admission by his son Donald Trump Jr that he had sought damaging information on Hillary Clinton from a "Russian government attorney", insisted that he was acting in America’s best interests.

"People said, 'Oh, they shouldn't get along,'” he told the Christian Broadcasting Network, in his first non-Fox News interview in over two months.

“Well, who are the people that are saying that? I think we get along very, very well."</s>Why did this happen?

Please make sure your browser supports JavaScript and cookies and that you are not blocking them from loading. For more information you can review our Terms of Service and Cookie Policy.</s>WASHINGTON -- A new government analysis of U.S. President Donald Trump's budget plan says it wouldn't come close to balancing the federal ledger like the White House has promised.

Thursday's Congressional Budget Office report says that Trump's budget, if followed to the letter, would result in a US$720-billion deficit at the end of 10 years instead of the slight surplus promised.

CBO said Trump's budget would reduce the deficit by a total of US$3.3 trillion over 10 years instead of the US$5.6-trillion deficit cut promised by the White House. The nonpartisan scorekeeper estimated that deficits in each of the coming 10 years will exceed the US$585 billion in red ink posted last year.

CBO says that Trump relied on far too optimistic predictions of economic growth and that Trump's rosy projections are the chief reason his budget doesn't balance as promised.

"Nearly all of that [deficit] difference arises because the administration projects higher revenue projections — stemming mainly from a projection of faster economic growth," CBO said.

Trump's budget predicts that the U.S. economy will soon ramp up to annual growth in gross domestic product of three per cent; CBO's long-term projections predict annual GDP growth averaging 1.9 per cent.

"The CBO report shows that the president built his budget on fantasy projections," said Rep. John Yarmuth of Kentucky, the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee.

Trump's May budget submission proposed jarring, politically unrealistic cuts to the social safety net for the poor and a swath of other domestic programs. Many of its recommendations were deemed dead on arrival and are being ignored by Republicans controlling Congress.

CBO also said that the Trump budget contained too little detail to accurately predict its effects on the economy. The White House promised that its juiced-up economic projections will produce US$2.1 trillion in deficit reduction, mostly from overhauling the tax code and reducing the burden regulations have on the economy. But Trump's tax overhaul plan is so far so sketchy that it can fit on a single page.

The analysis came as the administration and Republicans controlling the House are struggling to unite Republicans behind an alternative congressional budget plan that's a prerequisite for a hoped-for tax reform effort this fall.

The stakes on completing a budget are high for the Trump administration. Budget Director Mick Mulvaney said Thursday that the administration's plans to cut taxes hinges on completing a 2018 budget, a procedural requirement so that the tax cuts can be passed without having to rely on Democratic support in the Senate.

"The tax reform concepts rely almost entirely on the budget resolution passing," Mulvaney said at a breakfast with reporters.

Mulvaney said that discussion continues among House lawmakers about fashioning a package of cuts from so-called mandatory programs that can win support from both conservative and centrist Republicans.

But Mulvaney was quick to downplay calls for an aggressive timeline on the administration's agenda. He said it was unreasonable to expect Congress to raise the government's borrowing authority, replace the 2010 health insurance law and pass a 2018 budget in the "next couple of weeks." Mulvaney said that the priority is completing the GOP's rewrite of health care first.

CBO is the nonpartisan scorekeeper charged with giving lawmakers independent analysis of legislation, the budget and the economy. While the White House and many Republicans have criticized CBO's coverage estimates for the Obamacare health law and the House and Senate GOP replacement plans, the White House hasn't been critical of CBO's budget predictions.

"While it does very well at times predicting things on budget — whether it's revenue or spending, we don't always agree that it does a great job predicting [health-care] coverage," White House deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters last month.

On Thursday, the White House budget office took heart that CBO credited it with US$4.2 trillion worth of spending cuts over the upcoming decade, including US$1.9 trillion from health-care programs; it also says the administration would cut taxes by almost US$1 trillion over that time, mostly because of its plans to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

The deficit cuts may come up short of balance, but the White House noted they are still very ambitious.

"We are thrilled that CBO confirms that the president's proposed budget resulted in the largest deficit reduction they have ever scored. CBO agrees that this is the largest deficit reduction package in American history," said White House budget office spokeswoman Meghan Burris, promising that Trump's economic agenda "will jumpstart the economy."</s>FILE PHOTO - A copy of President Trump's Fiscal Year 2018 budget is on display on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., May 23, 2017.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said on Thursday that President Donald Trump's 2018 budget would reduce the federal deficit over the next decade but the reduction will be lower than White House estimates due to slower economic growth.

Trump's 2018 fiscal budget would cause the federal budget deficit to shrink relative to the size of the economy over the next 10 years, ranging between 2.6 percent to 3.3 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) during that period, the CBO said.

Under Trump's budget, the cumulative federal deficit would be one-third smaller than CBO baseline projections that show deficits rising to 5 percent of the GDP by 2027, the CBO said.

The CBO report contradicts a claim made by the White House that its budget would balance the budget within a decade.</s>WASHINGTON, July 13 (Reuters) - The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said on Thursday that President Donald Trump's 2018 budget would reduce the federal deficit over the next decade but the reduction will be lower than White House estimates due to slower economic growth.

Trump's 2018 fiscal budget would cause the federal budget deficit to shrink relative to the size of the economy over the next 10 years, ranging between 2.6 percent to 3.3 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) during that period, the CBO said.

Under Trump's budget, the cumulative federal deficit would be one-third smaller than CBO baseline projections that show deficits rising to 5 percent of the GDP by 2027, the CBO said.

The CBO report contradicts a claim made by the White House that its budget would balance the budget within a decade. (Reporting By Amanda Becker)</s>A new government analysis of President Donald Trump’s budget plan says it wouldn’t come close to balancing the federal ledger like the White House has promised.

The Congressional Budget Office report says that Trump’s budget, if followed to the letter, would result in a $720 billion deficit at the end of 10 years instead of the slight surplus promised.</s>The Congressional Budget Office has refuted the Trump administration's claims that it can cut taxes and spending and leave the US with a balanced budget.

In an analysis of the budget released Thursday, the nonpartisan CBO said President Donald Trump's plan would shrink the deficit relative to the size of the overall economy, but it projects a budget deficit 10 years from now that's far larger than the Trump administration's estimates.

The White House projects that the budget could tip into a surplus of $16 billion by the 2027 fiscal year, from a $585 billion deficit in the most recent year, but the CBO's estimates suggest a deficit of $720 billion in 2027.

The Trump proposal, which isn't a detailed budget, was released in May and immediately met with criticism over its growth projections and assumptions. For example, predictions of long-term deficit reduction are based on the idea that annual economic growth will hit 3% once tax cuts "prime the pump." That's well over the average rate of growth since 1980, which is about 2.6%.

"Nearly all of that difference arises because the Administration projects higher revenue collections — stemming mainly from a projection of faster economic growth," the CBO said.</s>WASHINGTON (AP) - A new government analysis of President Donald Trump's budget plan says it wouldn't come close to balancing the federal ledger like the White House has promised.

The Congressional Budget Office report says that Trump's budget, if followed to the letter, would result in a $720 billion deficit at the end of 10 years instead of the slight surplus promised.

CBO said Trump's budget would reduce the deficit by a total of $3.3 trillion over 10 years instead of the $5.6 trillion deficit cut promised by the White House.

US President Donald Trump waves as he arrives for a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Thursday, July 13, 2017. Trump will be the parade's guest of honor to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the U.S. entry into World War I. U.S. troops will open the parade Friday as is traditional for the guest of honor. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Trump's May budget submission proposed jarring, politically unrealistic cuts to the social safety net for the poor and a swath of other domestic programs. Many of its recommendations were deemed dead on arrival and are being ignored by Republicans controlling Congress.</s>WASHINGTON (AP) — A new government analysis of President Donald Trump's budget plan says it wouldn't come close to balancing the federal ledger like the White House has promised.

Thursday's Congressional Budget Office report says that Trump's budget, if followed to the letter, would result in a $720 billion deficit at the end of 10 years instead of the slight surplus promised.

CBO said Trump's budget would reduce the deficit by a total of $3.3 trillion over 10 years instead of the $5.6 trillion deficit cut promised by the White House. The nonpartisan scorekeeper estimated that deficits in each of the coming 10 years will exceed the $585 billion in red ink posted last year.

CBO says that Trump relied on far too optimistic predictions of economic growth and that Trump's rosy projections are the chief reason his budget doesn't balance as promised.

"Nearly all of that (deficit) difference arises because the administration projects higher revenue projections — stemming mainly from a projection of faster economic growth," CBO said.

Trump's budget predicts that the U.S. economy will soon ramp up to annual growth in gross domestic product of 3 percent; CBO's long-term projections predict annual GDP growth averaging 1.9 percent.

Trump's May budget submission proposed jarring, politically unrealistic cuts to the social safety net for the poor and a swath of other domestic programs. Many of its recommendations were deemed dead on arrival and are being ignored by Republicans controlling Congress.</s>FILE PHOTO - A copy of President Trump's Fiscal Year 2018 budget is on display on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., May 23, 2017.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's proposed government spending plan would reduce the federal deficit over the next decade but fail to balance the budget, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said on Thursday.

The 2018 fiscal year budget, unveiled in May, put numbers on Trump's vision of a government that would boost military spending while radically cutting assistance to lower-income Americans.

The annual budget deficit in 2027 would be about $720 billion under Trump's proposal, the CBO said in a report, not eliminated as promised by the White House, which has projected a $16 billion surplus.

There was no immediate reaction to the report from the Trump administration. But in a pre-emptive strike on Wednesday, the White House wrote on Twitter: "Faulty Numbers = Faulty Results."

Trump's budget, which slashes funding for the Medicaid healthcare program for the poor and disabled, is unlikely to become law in its current form.

Republicans who control the U.S. Congress - and the federal purse strings - will decide whether to make the politically sensitive cuts.

Senate Republicans unveiled revised healthcare legislation on Thursday as part of their party's long-running effort to scrap the 2010 Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare..

The Senate legislation retained the previous draft bill's phaseout of Obamacare's expansion of Medicaid and sharp cuts to federal Medicaid spending beginning in 2025. The changes to Medicaid have been a point of political contention among Republican lawmakers.

The CBO estimated that Trump's budget would cause the federal budget deficit to shrink relative to the size of the economy over the next 10 years, ranging between 2.6 percent to 3.3 percent of gross domestic product during that period.

The cumulative federal deficit would be one-third smaller than CBO baseline projections that show deficits rising to 5 percent of GDP by 2027, the CBO said.

The CBO said the Trump budget's deficit reduction over the next decade would be lower than the White House projects due to lower estimated revenues and slower economic growth than assumed by the administration.

The CBO said did not take into account all of Trump's proposals that may affect the economy because "the details on many of the proposed policies are not available at this time." The administration's tax reform proposal, for example, "lacked the specificity necessary to evaluate any effects," the CBO wrote.

The deficit reduction created by Trump's budget proposal would result from lower spending over the next decade, the CBO said.

The White House blueprint would cut $2 trillion in mandatory spending, including $1.9 trillion on healthcare.

About $1.25 trillion of that is linked to a bill already passed by the House or Representatives to repeal and replace Obamacare. Trump's budget also proposes saving $610 billion over the next decade by overhauling the Medicaid program, the CBO said.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that in ten years the federal budget of U.S. President Donald Trump will produce a $720 billion deficit rather than a $16 billion surplus as claimed by the Trump administration.