The Trump administration is seeking $1.5 trillion in defense funding from Congress for fiscal year 2027, a nearly 50% increase from current levels, but Pentagon officials reportedly now believe that the super-sized budget request will probably not be fulfilled.
The record-setting request is intended to refill stockpiles of weapons depleted during the war with Iran while also making investments in new technologies and systems, including President Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile shield and a new generation of “Trump-class” battleships.
Republicans had hoped to pass part of the massive budget via the reconciliation process, which would allow them to push through a $350 billion boost without any Democratic votes, but there are now serious doubts about whether GOP lawmakers can unify to pass the legislation in the final weeks of the current Congress. As a result, as Politico’s Mark Satter, Paul McLeary and Audrey Decker report, defense officials and congressional staff are now working on a smaller budget plan closer to $1.1 trillion, even as the administration continues to maintain that it still wants the larger number.
“GOP infighting in both chambers has already imperiled the odds of passing even one piece of the $1.5 trillion total,” Satter, McLeary and Decker write. “Top Senate Republicans have warned they don’t have enough votes to pass a party-line spending package. And House Republicans have threatened to withhold their votes over the administration’s handling of foreign policy and a reluctance to devote more money to the military.”
Whatever the final number, the funding issue will return to the front burner after the midterm elections. The Pentagon, along with the rest of the federal government, is funded through December 11 via a short-term continuing resolution, and lawmakers will need to scramble to hammer out a deal to make sure funding continues.