White House set to release Trump's budget with major increase in defense spending [View all]

Source: AP

Updated 12:01 AM EDT, April 3, 2026


WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is set to release President Donald Trump’s 2027 budget Friday, a sweeping blueprint that could boost Pentagon spending to $1.5 trillion, the largest of its kind in decades, as the U.S. focuses on military investments rather than other domestic programs.

Even before the U.S.-led war against Iran, the Republican president had indicated he wanted to bolster defense spending to modernize the military for 21st-century threats. Separately, the Pentagon last month proposed $200 billion for the war effort and to backfill munitions and supplies.

Trump, speaking ahead of an address to the nation this week about the Iran war, signaled the military is his priority, setting up a clash ahead in Congress. “We’re fighting wars. We can’t take care of day care,” Trump said at a private White House event Wednesday. “It’s not possible for us to take care of day care, Medicaid, Medicare — all these individual things,” he said. “They can do it on a state basis. You can’t do it on a federal.”

The president’s annual budget more broadly is considered a reflection of the administration’s values and does not carry the force of law. The massive document typically highlights an administration’s priorities, but Congress, which handles federal spending issues, is free to reject it and often does.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/trump-2027-annual-budget-congress-defense-f95715d838be17afd9799208cd3182e3