Pentagon officials are quietly bracing for President Trump’s $1.5 trillion defense budget request to fall short, according to a Politico report relayed by the Daily Beast.
For months, the administration, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, has urged Congress to approve a record budget funding a “Golden Fleet” battleship, a “Golden Dome” missile shield and replacement of munitions drained by the Iran war. The request hasn’t attracted much bipartisan backing, and with Republicans at risk of losing one or both chambers, the Pentagon is reportedly preparing to draft a budget about $400 billion smaller.
A former official told Politico no one expects “anywhere close to 1.5 trillion” and that officials are “absolutely developing plans” to work with a smaller budget A second source said the Pentagon “can’t admit” this because it would clash with public administration statements.
The White House wants to use reconciliation, which requires just 51 Senate votes, to add $350 billion to a $1.15 trillion base budget. But some Republican senators question whether that could pass if their party loses a chamber. Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) earlier told Politico that if Republicans lose Congress, “it’ll be the Last Supper.”
After the Nov. 3 election, Republicans would have under five weeks to pass multiple bills before the new Congress is seated.
The former official said Republicans are increasingly angry at the administration on defense, making a $1.5 trillion budget unlikely to pass even in the Republican-dominated lame duck session.