The White House released a budget plan on Friday proposing $1.01 trillion in military spending for 2026, a 13% increase from this year.
The proposal fulfills President Trump’s vow to bring the official US military budget to over $1 trillion for the first time. The increase in US military spending will include funding for President Trump’s plans for a major missile defense system for the US, which he has dubbed the “Iron Dome for America, which will likely kick off a new global arms race.
Despite the massive increase, Trump is facing pushback from some Republican hawks, who are complaining that the White House is relying on a reconciliation bill for some of the funds.
According to Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, the White House is asking Congress for $892.6 billion in military spending for fiscal year 2026, which is about the same as the 2025 budget. The remaining $119 will be authorized under a budget bill that Congress is currently working on.
The budget bill will include $150 billion in military spending that can be spent over the next four years, but under the White House proposal, it will mostly be spent for the 2026 fiscal year. Sen. Mitch McConnell complained in a statement that the administration wasn’t asking Congress to appropriate the entire $1.01 trillion.
“It is peculiar how much time the President’s advisors spend talking about restoring peace through strength, given how apparently unwilling they’ve been to invest accordingly in the national defense or in other critical instruments of national power,” McConnell said. “Make no mistake: a one-time influx reconciliation spending is not a substitute for full-year appropriations.”
The pushback from leading Senate Republicans suggests that Congress may draft a higher military budget than Trump requested. “Fortunately, Presidential budget requests are just that: requests. Congress will soon have an opportunity to ensure that American power – and the credibility of our commitments – are appropriately resourced,” McConnell said.
The US has never officially had a $1 trillion military budget, but the actual cost of US military spending has exceeded $1 trillion for years. According to veteran defense analyst Winslow Wheeler, based on the $895 billion NDAA, US national security spending for 2025 was expected to reach about $1.77 trillion.
Wheeler’s estimate accounts for military-related spending from other government agencies not funded by the NDAA, such as the Department of Veterans Affairs. It also includes the national security share of the interest accrued on the US debt and other factors.
