The Pentagon is requesting $848.3 billion for its fiscal year 2026 budget, a cut to core military spending when accounting for inflation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But while releasing many of the military\u2019s detailed budget materials Thursday, senior military and defense officials argued that their request should factor in a separate party-line spending bill now under debate in Congress. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This one-time bill includes $113 billion in mandatory military spending and would bring the Pentagon\u2019s total to $961 billion \u2014 close to the trillion-dollar defense budget President Donald Trump has pledged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such supplemental defense bills are normally not counted toward the Pentagon\u2019s base budget, the same way a bonus doesn\u2019t normally figure into an annual salary. This year, though, the Defense Department has chosen to split its spending request into two bills, shifting core weapons programs such as shipbuilding and missile defense into the one-time spending package.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lawmakers from both parties in Congress criticized Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for the delayed and unusual budget during multiple days of testimony earlier in June. The secretary has argued that the request shouldn\u2019t be an issue \u2014 saying they have \u201ctwo bills and one budget.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Members of Congress have said this process has created unnecessary confusion and puts many of the military\u2019s most important weapons programs at risk. The companies that make these systems now won\u2019t know if their funding will continue beyond the coming fiscal year and may be more hesitant to invest their own money. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The senior defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, disputed this concern Thursday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cReconciliation is actually a stronger demand signal for those companies,\u201d the official said, referring to the spending process, which may arrive earlier than the Pentagon\u2019s core defense budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The official wouldn\u2019t project what the Pentagon would request the following year \u2014 the $961 billion including the one-time spending package or the $848 billion without. The official also didn\u2019t specify how the Pentagon was preparing for the chance that the one-time bill doesn\u2019t pass, jeopardizing many of the priorities included within. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have not yet discussed what that will look like for [fiscal year 2027], but unless the President\u2019s tone changes, I imagine we\u2019ll stick with a trillion dollars for national defense spending,\u201d the official said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a highly unusual release, the Pentagon published a tranche of its budget documents without notice Wednesday evening. Given the amount of taxpayer money involved, the process typically involves a public briefing announced in advance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As of Thursday morning, the Pentagon still hadn\u2019t published the broad overview of its budget and many of the other documents detailing what is going toward the military services. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hegseth entered office promising to disrupt the military\u2019s bureaucracy, including its spending plans. He\u2019s since launched an effort to redirect $50 billion of the budget each year to higher-priority programs. The officials speaking Thursday said that money was largely found through large cuts to the Pentagon workforce. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those priorities include Golden Dome \u2014 a planned homeland missile defense system \u2014 with $25 billion planned for FY26 and the military\u2019s expanding role at the southwest border, with $5 billion also pledged for the operation. Much of the administration\u2019s effort to revitalize America\u2019s lagging shipbuilding industry will also rely on the one-year defense supplemental bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Defense Department also chose to cut major aircraft programs, such as the E-7 Wedgetail, a surveillance plane. Funding for the Navy\u2019s new fighter jet is also majorly reduced, including only $74 million to the program to finish its design. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re waiting for a decision from the secretary of the Navy, secretary of defense and the President. That\u2019s an active conversation right now,\u201d the official said of whether to maintain the program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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