President Donald Trump plans to request a record $1.01 trillion for national security spending for the fiscal year beginning October 1, which is more than 13% higher than the current year's figure. Bloomberg reports this, citing administration officials familiar with the matter, writes UNN.
Details
The budget priorities include projects of strategic importance, including the "Golden Dome" missile defense, shipbuilding, modernization of the nuclear arsenal, border security, as well as an increase in salaries for military personnel by 3.8%.
As reported, the request also covers auxiliary funding for the Department of Energy, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and a number of other agencies, and generally corresponds to 3.2% of GDP - at the level of the 2024 fiscal year. For comparison, current total national security spending amounts to $892.3 billion.
The budget will be officially presented in the form of a shortened request ("skinny budget") on Friday, May 2, marking the beginning of the budget process in Congress for 2026 and defining the main financial priorities of the administration.
The request for funding for the Ministry of Defense separately will amount to $961 billion, which significantly exceeds the level approved in January at $848.3 billion. Earlier, the Joe Biden administration predicted a defense budget of $876.8 billion for 2026.
The document also contains a portion of the $150 billion that Congress plans to allocate as additional "agreed" defense spending, supplementing the already approved package of discretionary funding.
The request is expected to spark controversy in Congress. Lawmakers have repeatedly criticized the Pentagon for failing to pass a full audit. According to a report by the US Government Accountability Office, at least $10.8 billion in fraud was detected in the Department of Defense between 2017 and 2024.
Defense Minister Pete Hegseth noted on social media that despite the historically high volume of the request, the department intends to "spend every taxpayer dollar wisely - on combat capability and readiness."
President Trump, in turn, explained the scale of the request by the growth of global threats.
"We have to build an army. We are very attentive to expenses, but we must build an army," Trump said.