The request would top World War II spending while funding boondoggles and sweetheart deals.
By MAX BOOT
Washington Post
August 17, 2026
As a defense hawk, I’ve long been in favor of more military spending — up to and including when the defense budget hit $1 trillion this year. But I’m experiencing real sticker shock at the Trump administration’s $1.5 trillion request for next year. In inflation-adjusted terms, that 50 percent increase would result in the largest defense budget ever — exceeding even the World War II peak.
And this comes at a time when the federal budget deficit is at $1.8 trillion and federal debt is nearly $40 trillion. On its current trajectory, public debt as a percentage of gross domestic product in 2030 will exceed the record set in 1946. Granted, defense outlays are only 13 percent of federal spending, but you know what they say: “A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you’re talking real money.” In this case, we’re talking about another $500 billion in real money.
There is, in short, good reason Congress isn’t rushing to rubber-stamp the staggering defense budget. The House, by a narrow margin, passed a $1.15 trillion defense budget and a $73 billion supplemental to fund the Iran war. In addition to the money in the House bills, the White House wants another $350 billion via a reconciliation bill that can’t be filibustered by Democrats. But that measure appears to be DOA in the Senate. With time running out, the armed forces are likely to begin the new fiscal year on Oct. 1 under a “continuing resolution” that provides “only” $838 billion.
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