The White House eyes are 8 % for the defense budget to enhance Trump's priorities

Editor's note: This story has been updated to include a response from the Pentagon leadership.

Defense Minister Beit Higseth Senior military officials ordered the development of a budget plan that reduces defense spending by 8 %, a dramatic reduction that can reshape the strength of the military party and prepare for decades.

In a note It was obtained for the first time by the Washington PostHigseth ordered the proposed discounts on February 24. Seventeen category of budget discounts, including military operations in the southern American border, nuclear weapons and missile defense, will be exempted, and some drones and ammunition are acquired.

The idea of ​​sharp defensive discounts, Bloomberg was originally informed last weekCertainly, the opposition is attracted from the legislators in the Capitol Hill, as in recent weeks Republicans have been discussing great increases in defense spending in the coming years – not major discounts.

But it seems that Higseth's budget plans are following wider instructions from President Donald Trump to reduce government spending, including the dismissal of thousands of federal workers in the past few weeks.

Total defensive spending was approximately $ 850 billion in the fiscal year 2024. The Ministry of Defense budget has not been completed in 2025, despite the new fiscal year that begins last October.

The Washington Post has reported a possible 8 % reduction as an annual reduction for five years. However, in a note sent on Wednesday evening, Deputy Defense Minister Robert Solds said that the goal is to find a “displacement” in the 2026 financial budget plan, with the aim of finding at least $ 50 billion to transfer into “alignment programs with President Trump's priorities.”

The annual reduction of 8 % for the next five years means approximately $ 300 billion in military spending during the fiscal year 2030 compared to the stable budget number. But in most years, legislators agree to at least military spending increases, often higher than that.

“Through our budgets, the Ministry of Defense will once again provide Warforf resources and stop the unnecessary spending that restored our army under the previous administration, including the so -called” climate change “and other waking programs, in addition to excessive bureaucracy. books. “The preparation time has ended. We must act quickly to deter current and visible threats and the best use of taxpayers to do so.”

The Ministry of Defense officials did not submit a general copy of the Higseth note to the heads of the agency.

Earlier this year, Trump has publicly suggested that all NATO countries spend at least 5 % of their gross domestic product, a number that would impose a military budget worth $ 1 trillion for the United States.

Approval of any defensive discounts will decrease in front of the Republican Congress, which started listening sessions in the financial military budget 2026 in the past few days. This process is expected to take most of the year.

Before that, lawmakers still need to reach an agreement to extend a short -term or long -term budget for the 2025 fiscal year by mid -March, or lead to partial government closure.

Last month, the head of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Roger Weis, said R-Miss. , Broken He expressed his hope to strengthen defense spending at $ 200 billion in the coming years to deal with the increasing threats from China, Iran and other opponents.