Trump proposes record-breaking $1.5 trillion in military spending

President Donald Trump requested more than $1.5 trillion in Pentagon spending for fiscal year 2027. That would be the largest military budget in U.S. history, and roughly 44% more than the prior fiscal year. 

The amount combines Pentagon spending with nuclear weapons spending under the Energy Department. The request includes increases for building a "Golden Dome" U.S. missile defense system, higher pay for troops, and additional funds for shipbuilding and artificial intelligence.

The White House said the funding would secure "the foundations of American military power" and ensure the "United States maintains the world's most powerful and capable military."

Spending $1.5 trillion for the military "would be record breaking just about any way you look at it," said Todd Harrison, a military budget specialist at the American Enterprise Institute, a right-of-center think tank.

The previous record for yearly military spending, Harrison said, was about $1.2 trillion during its World War II peak, when adjusted for inflation. "So this budget, if enacted, would push us well above that," Harrison said.

Separately, the White House is expected to request additional funds for the Iran war. The administration was initially thought to be seeking an additional $200 billion, but that request — known as a supplemental spending request — is now considered likelier to be between $80 billion and $100 billion, The Washington Post reported.

Presidential budget requests are an opening proposal; they require congressional buy-in, and there's no guarantee that even a Republican Congress will agree to everything Trump seeks. 

But if something close to Trump's proposal is enacted, it would advance his campaign promise to provide record-breaking military funding. For now, we continue to rate this promise In the Works.