U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday urged Congress to approve a record $1.5 trillion defense budget for 2027, citing escalating costs from the ongoing conflict with Iran and expanding global security commitments.
The proposal marks a more than 40 percent increase in Pentagon spending in just one year — the largest surge since World War II — as Washington moves to sustain military operations and replenish depleted weapons stockpiles.
Reports from closed-door congressional briefings revealed that the war with Iran may be costing as much as $2 billion per day, underscoring the scale of financial strain even before factoring in reconstruction and resupply efforts.
To offset the increase, Trump proposed cutting approximately $73 billion from non-defense programs, or about 10 percent.
He said the reductions would come from “reducing or eliminating woke, weaponized and wasteful programs, and by returning state and local responsibilities to their respective governments.”
The president emphasized that military funding must take precedence during wartime, even at the expense of federal social services.
“It’s not possible for us to take care of day care, Medicaid, Medicare,” Trump said at a private event, adding that such responsibilities should shift to state governments while the federal government focuses on “military protection.”
Democrats swiftly criticized the plan. Senate Budget Committee leader Patty Murray accused Trump of prioritizing military spending over domestic needs.
“Donald Trump might be happy to spend more money on bombs in the Middle East than on families here in America — but I am not,” Murray said in a statement.