President Trump is seeking a record-shattering jump in Pentagon funding as the US wages war with Iran and remains involved in other conflicts worldwide. The White House on Friday said it will ask Congress for about $1.5 trillion in defense spending for the 2027 fiscal year—roughly 40% more than current levels and the highest level in modern times if approved, the New York Times reports. The request comes paired with about $73 billion in cuts to domestic agencies, including climate, housing, and education programs, and a push for more money for border enforcement and deportations.
Trump wants more than $1.1 trillion of the defense boost passed through the regular budget process, with the remaining $350 billion advanced via the budget reconciliation process, the same filibuster-bypassing maneuver Republicans used for their tax cuts.
- Trump said at a private lunch earlier this week that "military protection" was a bigger priority than other government programs. "It's not possible for us to take care of day care, Medicaid, Medicare, all of these individual things, they can do it on a state basis," he said, per the Times.
- Politico reports that the proposed 10% cut to defense spending includes eliminating $1.6 billion in research programs run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and $15 billion in grants for renewable energy and similar efforts. The proposed Treasury Department budget includes $642 million in cuts to "woke and wasteful international financial institutions."
- The AP notes that White House budget proposals reflect an administration's priorities, but Congress, which controls federal spending, "is free to reject it and often does." Last year, Trump proposed a 23% cut to nondefense spending, but Congress kept the level roughly the same.
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