The president asserted that the US faces threats from “a lot of bad forces.”
Despite efforts to reduce federal spending, US President Donald Trump has announced his administration’s approval of a record-breaking defense budget, totaling approximately $1 trillion.
Trump made the announcement during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday.
“We are very mindful of costs, but we must strengthen our military due to the numerous dangerous entities present today,” Trump stated. “The scale is unprecedented.”
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth emphasized that “every taxpayer dollar will be spent judiciously, focusing on enhancing lethality and readiness.”
Former President Joe Biden’s Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin, had previously proposed a defense budget increase of about $50 billion above the projected amount for the fiscal year 2026.
In contrast to both Trump and Austin, the Pentagon had suggested an 8% spending reduction in February, prioritizing investments in technologies like drones, submarines, and defense operations along the US-Mexico border, as well as efforts to deter China.
The current US Defense Department budget stands at $895.2 billion. Despite these substantial allocations, the Pentagon has failed to successfully complete an audit in each of the seven years since the procedure’s inception.
Trump’s commitment to increased military funding coincides with widespread federal spending cuts implemented by his administration through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Under the leadership of Elon Musk, DOGE has overseen the layoff of approximately 280,000 federal employees in recent months.