By Bo Erickson and Ryan Patrick Jones
WASHINGTON, April 3 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday requested a 10% cut in non-defense discretionary spending for the 2027 fiscal year and a massive $500 billion increase in defense spending, as the United States continues its war against Iran.
The 2027 budget request comes as the president faces risky choices abroad, with the administration sending U.S. servicemembers to the Middle East, and a public at home feeling the economic crunch of skyrocketing gas prices due to the conflict.
The request ultimately requires approval by the U.S. Congress, where disagreement over Trump’s spending decisions recently led to the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
The president’s budget also reflects the administration’s political priorities ahead of the 2026 midterm elections in November, when Trump’s Republicans hope to maintain their small majorities in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.
The huge proposed surge in defense spending to $1.5 trillion, up from about $1 trillion in 2026, includes a 5-7% pay raise for military personnel at a time when thousands of servicemembers are actively deployed.
The defense request will please defense hawks on Capitol Hill, but also highlights how Trump is trying to pay for his doubling-down on military pursuits, even after Republicans boosted defense spending last year in party-line legislation.
The Pentagon already requested $200 billion in extra funding to pay for the Iran war, but the White House has not yet officially made that request to Congress, where it is also likely to face scrutiny from lawmakers in both parties.
Other specific funding increases proposed by Trump include his controversial Golden Dome missile defense shield, money to build up critical mineral supplies for the defense industry and $65.8 billion to build 34 new combat and support ships.
Funds for shipbuilding, a priority for Trump since his first term, include initial funding for the so-called Trump-class battleship as well as submarines.
Among the top-line documents released on Friday, the 2027 budget request did not grapple with the most expensive part of so-called mandatory federal spending – Social Security retirement and Medicare health spending for senior citizens – where potential cuts are seen as politically perilous.
It is also unclear how this new spending would impact the U.S. budget deficit because the projections were not included by the White House.
The deficit is expected to grow slightly in fiscal 2026 to $1.853 trillion, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
MESSAGING IN A MIDTERM YEAR
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill often treat White House budget requests as suggestive, as appropriators try to negotiate behind the scenes to maintain their own legislative priorities. But Trump’s latest budget will likely add to the ongoing tension with congressional Democrats over funding federal programs that they see as important – and plan to campaign to protect – as the president seeks to cut federal programs.
“Savings are achieved by reducing or eliminating woke, weaponized, and wasteful programs, and by returning state and local responsibilities to their respective governments,” the White House said in a budget fact sheet.
Some proposed cuts follow the Trump administration’s pursuit against “green energy” spending, as well as eliminating nearly 30 Justice Department programs that they deem “duplicative” or “weaponized” against the American people, along with other initiatives, like cutting the $315 million National Endowment for Democracy.
At the same time, the fiscal year 2027 budget requests a 13% increase to “maximize” the Justice Department’s “capacity to bring violent criminals to justice,” as well as maintaining high spending for homeland security and immigration enforcement at $2.2 billion, which the administration said will pay for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations, 41,500 detention beds, and 30,000 “family unit beds.”
The Trump budget also includes $481 million to increase hiring of air traffic controllers to bulk up staffing in airport towers across the country amid rising concerns about understaffing and air safety.
Pet projects for Trump are also funded, like a $10 billion mandatory fund to establish the “Presidential Capital Stewardship Program” within the National Park Service “to coordinate, plan, and execute targeted, priority construction and beautification projects in and around Washington, D.C.”
(Reporting by Bo Erickson; Editing by Michelle Nichols and Andrea Ricci)
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