President Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday that he wants a $1.5 trillion military budget for 2027, a 50% increase from his $1 trillion budget for 2026.
“After long and difficult negotiations with Senators, Congressmen, Secretaries, and other Political Representatives, I have determined that, for the Good of our Country, especially in these very troubled and dangerous times, our Military Budget for the year 2027 should not be $1 Trillion Dollars, but rather $1.5 Trillion Dollars,” the president said.
He added that $1.5 trillion would enable the US to build a “dream military” and claimed it would be possible thanks to his tariff policy.
“If it weren’t for the tremendous numbers being produced by Tariffs from other Countries, many of which, in the past, have ‘ripped off’ the United States at levels never seen before, I would stay at the $1 Trillion Dollar number but, because of Tariffs, and the tremendous Income that they bring, amounts being generated, that would have been unthinkable in the past … we are able to easily hit the $1.5 Trillion Dollar,” Trump wrote.
He also claimed that tariff revenue would also allow him to “pay down Debt, and likewise, pay a substantial Dividend to moderate income Patriots within our Country!”
When he first came into office in 2025, Trump suggested he could substantially cut military spending, but then went on to request the first-ever $1 trillion US military budget. He got it by combining the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which Congress finalized at $901 billion, with a supplemental military spending bill worth about $150 billion that was included in the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” passed earlier in 2025.
While 2026 marks the first time the US had an official military budget over $1 trillion, the true cost of annual US military and national security spending has exceeded $1 trillion for many years, when taking into account factors such as the budgets for the Departments of Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs, and the national security share of the interest accrued on the US debt.
