The White House made official Friday that President Donald Trump wants the first ever $1 trillion defense budget.
Yet Trump will not be able to increase defense spending at all above current levels — in fact it would decrease after accounting for inflation — unless a narrowly divided Congress sends him a reconciliation bill containing a huge increase for defense in fiscal 2026, hardly a given.
White House officials unveiled on Friday morning a so-called “skinny” version of Trump’s fiscal 2026 federal budget request. More details are expected in the weeks ahead.