The White House is seeking a record-shattering Pentagon budget of $1.5 trillion for the next fiscal year, the largest year-over-year increase in a presidential military spending request since World War II. The United States already has the world’s largest military budget at roughly $1 trillion, more than the combined budgets of the next nine highest-spending countries. The Trump administration’s budget request includes funding for F-35 stealth fighter jets, new warships and President Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile defense shield, among other priorities.
“All it means is buying more weapons for more,” says Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen. “It’s beyond the wildest dreams of the military-industrial complex.” The budget proposal also includes deep cuts to social programs.
We also speak with Josh Paul, a former State Department official involved in arms sales who resigned in 2023 over Israel-Palestine policy. He notes that the $1.5 trillion figure does not even include the costs of the Iran war. “It’s just a vast amount of money in a way that is reckless by an administration that is corrupt,” says Paul.
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
Democracy Now! | Radio Free (2026-04-07T12:42:43+00:00) “A Moral Obscenity”: White House Demands $1.5 Trillion Pentagon Budget, Largest Increase Since WWII. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2026/04/07/a-moral-obscenity-white-house-demands-1-5-trillion-pentagon-budget-largest-increase-since-wwii-2/
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