Trump unveils ambitious $1.5 trillion defense budget plan
Defence Budget Increase
President Trump proposed a $500 billion boost in defense spending for fiscal year 2027, raising the total to approximately $1.5 trillion.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stressed the importance of member nations meeting the 5% GDP defense spending commitment by 2035 in light of global security challenges.
Congress will review President Trump’s proposed defense budget increase and non-defense cuts ahead of upcoming hearings scheduled for late next month.
Briefing summary
US President Donald Trump proposed a $500 billion increase in defense spending for the 2027 fiscal year, aiming to reach approximately $1.5 trillion. This increase includes a planned 5-7% pay raise for military personnel.
Trump’s defense budget proposal is met with skepticism from congressional Democrats, who described it as “dead on arrival,” criticizing its emphasis on military funding over social services like healthcare and education.
Full reading: Trump proposes ‘historic’ $1.5trn defence budget | US News
US President Donald Trump has proposed a huge increase in defence spending, alongside a 10% cut in non-defence spending, for the 2027 fiscal year.
The plans, which require congressional approval, would see the defence budget rise by $500bn, reaching around $1.5trn.
The White House likened the requested funding boost, which will include a 5-7% pay raise for military personnel, to the “historic increases just prior to World War II”.
A US F-22 fighter. Pic: Reuters
Mr Trump’s spending proposals come as the US war against Iran, which has caused soaring gas prices, enters its sixth week.
The Pentagon had already requested $200bn (£151.49 bn) in extra funding to pay for the Iran conflict, but the White House has not officially made that request to Congress.
The request includes funding for the Golden Dome missile defence shield, and 34 new combat and support ships.
Initial funding for the US president’s ‘Trump class’ battleships would also be included in the defence hike.
Republican US Senator Roger Wicker, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Republican US Representative Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, both welcomed the announcement.
In a joint statement, the two men said, “America is facing the most dangerous global environment since World War II,” and that the funding would “ensure our military remains the most advanced in the world”.
However, top congressional Democrats said the president’s defence-heavy proposal was “dead on arrival”.
The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Cowpens. Pic: Reuters
“It’s just an out-of-touch plea for more money for guns and bombs, and less for the things people need, like housing, healthcare, education, roads,” Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley, the top Democrat on the budget committee, said in a statement.
NATO leaders agreed at a summit last year to spend 5% of GDP on defence and related investments by 2035.
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The budget also includes proposed cuts to the US agriculture department and health and human services department.
Pic: Reuters
US News reported that Mr Trump has also proposed cutting NASA‘s budget by $5.6bn, almost a quarter of its entire budget.