Donald Trump plans to spend $1 trillion on US military
Donald Trump (photo: Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump stated that his administration has approved a provisional national budget of approximately $1 trillion, according to Bloomberg.
“We are very cost conscious but the military is something that we have to build and we have to be strong because you have a lot of bad forces out there now,” Trump said at the White House during a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
He added that his administration would approve a budget that would become the largest budget we’ve ever passed for the military.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also responded to the news by posting the following message on social media platform X:
“COMING SOON: the first TRILLION dollar @DeptofDefense budget. President @realDonaldTrump is rebuilding our military — and FAST,” he wrote.
According to Bloomberg, the Trump administration has not yet released its formal budget request for fiscal year 2026, as the government is currently operating under a temporary funding measure for this year. A draft budget is not expected until late spring.
The outlet also referenced former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who previously recommended that the US increase defense spending by approximately $50 billion over the projected 2026 fiscal year figure. This could push the Pentagon’s budget past the $1 trillion mark in the coming years.
Bloomberg notes that Hegseth has been one of the strongest supporters of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative, aimed at reducing federal spending. Currently, the Pentagon operates with an annual budget of $850 billion and employs around 2 million personnel, making it the largest department in the US government.
In February, Hegseth ordered an 8% cut to certain unspecified categories of Department of Defense and military branch spending, reallocating those funds to higher-priority programs, including missile defense systems.
Pentagon cuts workforce but strengthens US defense
As reported last week, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has initiated a reduction in the civilian workforce within the Department of Defense. According to Bloomberg, a corresponding memorandum has already been signed. The planned downsizing could affect up to 76,000 of the Pentagon’s 950,000 civilian employees.
Earlier, RBC-Ukraine reported - citing CNN - that the Pentagon is developing a new defense system called the “Golden Dome,” aimed at protecting the US from long-range missile threats. According to sources, the Trump administration is sparing no expense to bring this ambitious project to life.
