Senate appropriators from both parties denounced Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Wednesday for relying on Republicans’ partisan budget reconciliation bill to meet his spending objectives in fiscal 2026.
The Trump administration has proposed spending $1.011 trillion on national security in fiscal 2026, with $961.6 billion for the Defense Department — but that total would include $113.3 billion from the reconciliation bill currently making its way through Congress.
“Reconciliation, Mr. Secretary, was meant to provide one-time supplemental funds to augment the defense budget, not to supplant the investments that should be in the base budget,” said Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine.
