Huge federal spending cuts may become the norm if President Donald Trump wins the 2020 presidential election, according to The Washington Post.

In an article posted Friday night, the Post reports that Trump is telling aides to prepare for significant budget cuts should he win. This is seen as a huge reversal of the big spending the White House has directed since he took office.

According to the Post, five people briefed on the discussions maintain that the president would be in an excellent position to reduce spending and even cut certain agencies starting in 2021. Much of this would also require the Republicans winning back the House.

"But this second-term ambition is already sowing confusion about how the White House should approach the current slate of negotiations, in which some conservatives want Trump to push for spending restraint," the Post reports.

"Instead, Trump is advocating swiftly lifting the federal debt ceiling, which would allow for more spending and borrowing. Trump, who was once a fierce promoter of refusing to raise the debt ceiling without winning concessions, said the opposite on Friday, telling reporters that 'it’s a sacred element of our country. They can’t use the debt ceiling to negotiate.'"

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin is currently negotiating with Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., over the prospect, though talks were stalled over an administration request for a $150 billion spending cut.

On Thursday, Mnuchin said the Trump administration and congressional Democrats have agreed on spending levels for a budget deal that could clear the way for raising the federal debt limit before Congress leaves town.

Mnuchin also signaled that he’d settle for a short-term increase in the government’s borrowing limit if all the budget details can’t get worked out in time, though House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has indicated she’ll resist a temporary debt limit hike.

“I don’t think the markets should be concerned” about the government running out of borrowing authority, Mnuchin told CNBC in an interview Thursday from Chantilly, France, where he was meeting with Group of Seven counterparts. “I think that everybody is in agreement.”

But Mnuchin’s push for a deal does not completely mesh with calls from other advisers, including acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, for significant cuts this term, a dispute that threatens to spill over into a potential Trump second term, The Post reported.

Material from Bloomberg news service was also used in this article.