I am a pilot but not a military pilot thus I must rely on the advice of my son a non pilot but grunt on the ground in Iraq for two tours. He was not behind the wire.
“If you get in trouble the Apache and the A10 are your best friend.”
It is simply because of that truth that The Usurper wants to get rid of this airplane.
It's not budgets. He laughs at budgets.
The A10 is out of favor because of two reasons - It's cheap and it works.
His buddies in the Moslem Brotherhood come crying that this thing is killing their guys on the ground. He knows it provides our guys a boost in morale and effectiveness - and *that* he hates.