Trump Calls For $1.5 Trillion In Fiscal 2027 Defense Spending

President Donald Trump wants to hike the Pentagon’s budget by 50% to $1.5 trillion in fiscal 2027, a massive rise in spending one year after the department crossed the trillion-dollar mark.

Trump, in a Jan. 7 social media post, called for the spending spike to “allow us to build the ‘Dream Military’ that we have long been entitled to.”

Congress approved more than $1 trillion in defense spending for the first time in 2026, thanks in part to mandatory defense spending added to the “One Big Beautiful Bill” reconciliation act. Without the congressional plus-up of $150 billion, the White House’s request for the year was flat from fiscal 2025’s request.

Russ Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, said last month he hopes to see another reconciliation package for fiscal 2027. Doing so allows the administration to shift some high-profile defense spending into a measure that does not require bipartisan support, while keeping much of the Pentagon’s money in largely bipartisan national defense authorization and appropriations bills.

Vought, speaking at the Reagan National Defense Forum Dec. 7, said there would not be a budget “hole.” However, Trump’s comments indicate plans for an unprecedented rise in defense spending.

Trump, in the social media post, claimed funding coming from tariffs allows the administration to “easily hit the $1.5 Trillion Dollar number while, at the same time, producing an unparalleled Military Force, and having the ability to, at the same time, pay down Debt, and likewise, pay a substantial Dividend to moderate income Patriots within our Country!”

His comments come as the Pentagon is likely finalizing its 2027 budget request to send to the Office of Management and Budget. Typically, the White House rolls out its request in February or early spring, though the fiscal 2026 request was released in June and the upcoming request is also expected to be later than normal.