Democrats have seized on this inconsistency and dug in, and they appear unlikely to capitulate during the current debate, in part because Trump has not signaled a willingness to back up demands from Vought’s office for the spending cuts. Now, neither aides nor Congress know precisely how hard Trump is willing to fight for budget cuts either this week or during the second term.

Muddying matters further, Trump has not instructed aides as to how sweeping he wants future budget cuts in his second term to be. For example, he has not told aides whether he will be open to significant cuts to Medicare, one of the government’s costliest programs. Trump promised during the 2016 campaign that he wouldn’t cut Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security. He abandoned that pledge for Medicaid but has largely held to his commitment not to reduce Medicare and Social Security benefits, despite pressure from some advisers.

His apathy toward cutting spending has helped drive the deficit to about $1 trillion this year, a sharp contrast to the GOP demands for a balanced budget during the Obama administration.

Trump himself has mischaracterized the government’s fiscal problems on numerous occasions, alleging that the Obama administration is to blame for rising debt levels. The deficit did widen, and then contract during the Obama administration, in part because of the government’s response to the financial crisis.