80 Groups to Congress: Trump’s Astronomical Military Spending Requests Should Be Stopped in Committee
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congress should reject any increases to the Pentagon’s budget during upcoming markup hearings for the FY 27 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), FY 27 Defense appropriations, reconciliation, and potential supplemental appropriations, 80 groups said in a letter today.
The House and Senate Armed Services Committees are expected to vote on President Donald Trump’s unprecedented $1.15 trillion Pentagon budget request in June. Now the White House is seeking to increase the already bloated Pentagon budget by an additional $600 billion.
Failing to restrain military spending in committee will set the stage for even greater increases later in the year, the groups said. In FY 26, ballooning military spending led to devastating cuts to an already strained social safety net. Entire federal agencies devoted to environmental protection, lifesaving foreign assistance, and disaster relief were defunded to pay for more Pentagon spending.
For FY 27, the White House is already eyeing further cuts to vital government programs and services – including affordable housing, climate initiatives, and education programs – to cover the costs of unnecessary weapons systems and Trump’s multi-billion-dollar vanity projects, such as his new “Trump-class” battleships and Golden Dome. The Congressional Budget Office now estimates the Golden Dome could cost $1.2 trillion over 20 years.
People across the country are now facing skyrocketing costs of living, fueled by dramatic increases in the costs of groceries, gasoline, housing, and health care. The national affordability crisis has been worsened by Trump’s reckless and unconstitutional wars.
Yet the administration has been remarkably candid about its callous priorities. Trump just openly stated that he does not “think about Americans’ financial situation,” while demanding tens of billions to wage his unconstitutional war on Iran. And in April, Trump said, “We’re fighting wars… It’s not possible for us to take care of day care, Medicaid, Medicare, all these individual things.”
The Pentagon has never passed an audit, cannot account for the money it receives, and has repeatedly proved unable to spend the money it already has. Nearly a year after Republicans handed an extra $156 billion to the Pentagon through the budget reconciliation process, the Pentagon has yet to obligate more than 80% of that funding.
Below are quotes from groups that led the letter:
“Lawmakers must do everything in their power to stop this unprecedented money-grab for more weapons, more war, and more waste,” said Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen. “Two critical steps are advancing committee-level amendments that roll back Trump’s astronomical military funding requests and opposing any bill that advances Trump’s unacceptable Pentagon budget.”
“The Department of War has been pursuing an unaccountable and unwanted war, and Hegseth’s budget proposal is an insult to nearly everyone in this country who can’t afford healthcare, gas, rent, and childcare,” said Sara Haghdoosti, civic action chief of program for MoveOn. “Members of Congress should be demanding answers and auditing receipts from the Pentagon and not entertaining their baseless, bloated $1.5 trillion budget request.”
“Across the country, families are being asked to do more with less — less health care, food assistance, housing support, help in the face of climate disasters and rising costs,” said Shayna Lewis, deputy director at Win Without War. “At the same time, the Trump administration is demanding Congress hand the Pentagon an unprecedented $1.5 trillion. It’s simply unconscionable. If lawmakers plan — and they should — to oppose efforts to jam Congress with the full $1.5 trillion request later this year, they cannot allow the $1.15 trillion base request to move through committee unchecked either. Congress must use every opportunity to reject this Pentagon budget and invest in what actually keeps people safe.”