President Trump has proposed boosting defense spending to $1.5 trillion in his 2027 budget released Friday, the largest such request in decades, reflecting his emphasis on U.S. military investments over domestic programs. The sizable increase for the Pentagon, some 44%, had been telegraphed by the Republican president even before the U.S.-led war against Iran. The president’s plan would also reduce spending on non-defense programs by 10%.
“President Trump promised to reinvest in America’s national security infrastructure, to make sure our nation is safe in a dangerous world,” wrote Budget Director Russell Vought. The president’s annual budget is considered a reflection of the administration’s values and does not carry the force of law. The massive document typically highlights an administration’s priorities, but Congress, which handles federal spending issues, is free to reject it and often does.
This year’s White House document is intended to provide a road map from the president to Congress as lawmakers build their own budgets and annual appropriations bills to keep the government funded. Vought spoke to House GOP lawmakers on a private call Thursday.
Trump, speaking ahead of an address to the nation this week about the Iran war, signaled the military is his priority, setting up a clash ahead in Congress. “We’re fighting wars. We can’t take care of day care,” Trump said at a private White House event Wednesday. “It’s not possible for us to take care of day care, Medicaid, Medicare — all these individual things,” he said. “They can do it on a state basis. You can’t do it on a federal.”
Among the priorities the White House called for includes supporting the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement and deportation operations, increasing funding for the Department of Justice to focus on violent criminals, and allocating funds for aviation safety and air traffic controller hiring surge. On the other hand, cuts are proposed for green energy, housing, and health programs.
The White House is touting cuts of what it calls “woke programs” that often direct federal investments toward low-income communities. The president also seeks to cut funding from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Supporters, including Republican chairmen of the House and Senate Armed Services committees, applaud Trump’s request for defense spending. However, critics, like the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, Rep. Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania, criticize the budget for demanding increase in defense while cutting billions from health care, housing, and more.
With the nation running nearly $2 trillion annual deficits and the debt swelling past $39 trillion, tough choices lie ahead in Congress. The administration is counting on its allies in the Republican-led Congress to push part of the president’s beefed-up defense spending through its own budget process. Congress is still grappling over current-year spending with disagreements over DHS funding. Last year, Trump sought to reduce the federal government’s size and scope, but Congress kept non-defense spending relatively flat.
