US President Donald Trump on Friday unveiled a $1.5 trillion defense budget request for the next fiscal year while seeking dramatic cuts to domestic projects. If approved, the budget would mark the largest year-on-year increase in military spending since the end of World War II, Reuters reported.
The budget proposal comes as the war with Iran enters its fifth week, putting mounting financial pressure on Washington. The United States has spent more than $40 billion since the conflict began, with roughly $11.3 billion spent in the first six days alone and spending continuing at about $1 billion a day, according to data tracked by the Iran Cost Ticker.
Key areas of spending
Trump’s proposed $1.5 trillion defense budget outlines major increases in several key areas within the U.S. War Department, with a strong focus on military capabilities, research and operational readiness, according to a Politico report.
- Purchase: Much of the funding, about $156 billion, is earmarked for procurement, which includes purchasing weapons systems, military equipment, aircraft, ships and other hardware needed by the armed forces.
- RDT&E: Another $125 billion is to be spent on research, development, testing and evaluation. The funding would support the development of advanced military technology.
- Operation and maintenance: The budget also aims to allocate about $48 billion for operations and maintenance, which cover the day-to-day running of the U.S. military.
- Revolving and trust funds: Another $19 billion is proposed for revolving and management funds, which are used to fund internal DoD services such as supply chain operations and other administrative functions that support military activities.
- Family housing: The plan also includes $2 billion for military family housing, which aims to preserve residential locations for service members and their families.
- Military Construction: A relatively smaller allocation of $407 is expected to go to military infrastructure projects, which can fund new bases, facility upgrades or other construction improvements.
Why does Trump want to increase the budget?
The Trump administration plans to use the funds to boost weapons production aimed at deterring Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific region. In addition, the plan also envisages restoring stockpiles of weapons depleted by conflicts in Israel, Iran and Ukraine, Reuters reported.
But Democrats quickly made it clear on Friday that they were unlikely to support the president’s proposal, objecting to the scale of defense spending along with sharp budget cuts to domestic programs, Politico reported.
The main targets of the administration’s proposed spending cuts are environmental programs across many federal agencies. Among the biggest cuts are the elimination of about $15 billion in grants that support programs such as the development of renewable energy technologies, and another $4 billion in transportation funds for programs supporting electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
Lawmakers were particularly critical of the White House’s plan to cut non-defense spending by 10% and cut $73 billion from federal programs outside the military, even as the budget calls for a massive increase in funding for the Pentagon, the report said.
The budget request will be debated in Congress in the coming weeks and months, according to Reuters. If approved, it would become a landmark in US defense spending priorities.
(with wired inputs)
