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President Trump wants to increase the US defense budget to $1.5 trillion, the largest expansion of military spending since the Second World War.
The funding boose would include the new Golden Dome missile-defense system, designed to protect America from ballistic missiles, and a significant increase in production of battleships, including new Trump-class ships.
The increase—42% over the previous fiscal year—would be paired with cuts across a number of domestic projects, including climate, housing and education projects.
The aim will be to reduce domestic spending by “reducing or eliminating woke, weaponised and wasteful programmes, and by returning local responsibilities to their respective governments
The budget request will need to be approved by Congress and is separate from the $200 billion Trump wants for the war with Iran.
At a private White House event this week, President Trump said military spending must be a priority.
“It’s not possible for us to take care of daycare, Medicaid, Medicare, all of these individual things, they can do it on a state basis,” the president said, before adding that the focus should be on “military protection.”
The BBC reports, “Of the total, approximately $1.1tnwould be in discretionary spending for the Pentagon, the highest on record.
“Another $350bn – specifically for the industrial defence base – would come from a process known as budget reconciliation, a procedural shortcut that lets some legislation pass the Senate with a simple majority of 51 votes.
“The budget also requests pay rises for troops and $65.8 billion in shipbuilding funding, including for what Trump has referred to as a ‘Golden Fleet’ of next-generation vessels.
“These include the heavily-armed Trump-class battleships unveiled in December.”
