President Donald Trump has called for military spending of $1.5 trillion in his annual budget request, an increase of nearly 40% from last year.
The budget request released Friday is not legally binding but highlights the White House’s emphasis on military spending and law enforcement.
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“Budget 2027 builds on the President’s vision by continuing to rein in non-defense spending and reforming the federal government,” Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought said in the budget’s preamble.
The increased spending will “help President Trump achieve peace through reinvestment in America’s military power base,” according to the document.
The budget is expected to be subject to lengthy negotiations in Congress in the coming weeks.
The $1.5 trillion request includes an increase of approximately $455 billion over fiscal 2026. This is in addition to the Trump administration’s emergency $200 billion request to Congress to support the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, which began on February 28th.
This earlier request had already upset some standard-bearers in President Trump’s “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) base, who argued that directing more money to the conflict contradicted the president’s “America First” pledge.
The budget summary includes $73 billion in proposed cuts to domestic programs.
This includes efforts to combat climate change and promote renewable energy, as well as a range of programs aimed at ensuring equity and access in housing, education and health care. Funding for refugee resettlement and assistance programs will also be cut.
Instead, the money will be used to build President Trump’s Golden Dome missile defense system, invest in critical minerals, strengthen U.S. shipbuilding and increase pay for U.S. soldiers, according to a White House fact sheet.
Speaking at a private White House event on Wednesday, President Trump emphasized his desire to expand the U.S. military while transferring some federal programs, including Medicaid and Medicare health care programs, to states.
Critics have warned that the move could lead to unstable funding and funding shortages.
“We’re at war. We can’t take care of daycare,” Trump said at a private event, the Associated Press reported.
“It’s impossible for us to deal with day care, Medicaid, Medicare, all these individual things,” he said. “They can do it on a state basis, but they can’t do it on a federal basis.”
U.S. military spending has increased in recent decades, rising from about $320 billion in 2000 to $997 billion in 2024, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
According to the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, an organization that assesses America’s fiscal challenges, the United States consistently spends more on the military than the next nine countries combined.
Additionally, the United States has historically devoted a larger percentage of its gross domestic product (GDP) to its military than any other large economy in the world.
Emphasis on strengthening immigration control
The budget request also aims to strengthen some of President Trump’s other top priorities.
He is calling for continued funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its subsidiary agency, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), to support his mass deportation campaign.
This comes as Congress continues to stalemate over funding for ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), two DHS agencies that Democrats have refused to support without reforms.
The request also calls for a 13% increase in funding for the Justice Department, which the White House has said will focus on violent crime, and the creation of a $10 billion fund within the National Park Service for beautification projects in Washington, D.C.
In its request, the administration also laid out a path to passing a budget that relies heavily on Republicans in Congress.
The report suggested that $1.1 trillion in defense funding could be approved through the regular spending process, which would likely require bipartisan support.
The remaining $350 billion could be passed through a mechanism known as settlement, typically achieved with a simple majority. Republicans hold slim majorities in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.
The United States regularly runs annual deficits of about $2 trillion, and the national debt currently stands at about $39 trillion.
