President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced plans for a $1 trillion defense budget.
During a press conference, Trump said, “We have great things happening with our military. We also essentially approved a budget, which is in the facility — you’ll like to hear this — of a trillion dollars. One trillion dollars. And nobody’s seen anything like it.”
“We have to build our military, and we’re very cost-conscious. But the military is something that we have to build, and we have to be strong because you’ve got a lot of bad forces out there now,” he said. “So, we’re going to be approving a budget — and I’m proud to say, actually, it’s the biggest one we’ve ever done for the military.”
Hegseth commented on the plan on X, writing, “COMING SOON: the first TRILLION dollar @DeptofDefense budget. President @realDonaldTrump is rebuilding our military — and FAST. (PS: we intend to spend every taxpayer dollar wisely — on lethality and readiness).”
According to Politico, the trillion-dollar plan would be a “significant increase from the $892 billion funding Congress allocated for national defense programs this year, which includes the Pentagon, nuclear weapons development and security programs at other agencies.” The outlet noted that armed services also seek to cut 8% of its individual budgets and reinvest the funds in “modernization efforts.”
The military budget expansion comes as Trump signed an executive order in January to prioritize military excellence and readiness.
“The United States military has a clear mission: to protect the American people and our homeland as the world’s most lethal and effective fighting force. Success in this existential mission requires a singular focus on developing the requisite warrior ethos, and the pursuit of military excellence cannot be diluted to accommodate political agendas or other ideologies harmful to unit cohesion,” the order said. Another executive order sought to establish an Iron Dome for the United States.
