Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Deluxe Investment GroupDeluxe Investment Group

Investing

Top Senate Armed Services Republican says Trump OMB’s budget ‘shreds to the bone’ military capabilities

The Senate’s top Armed Services Republican eviscerated President Donald Trump’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) shortly after the White House released details of its government funding proposal for fiscal year 2026. 

‘President Trump successfully campaigned on a Peace Through Strength agenda, but his advisers at the Office of Management and Budget were apparently not listening,’ Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said in a statement. 

‘The Big, Beautiful Reconciliation Bill was always meant to change fundamentally the direction of the Pentagon on programs like Golden Dome, border support, and unmanned capabilities – not to paper over OMB’s intent to shred to the bone our military capabilities and our support to service members.

House Armed Services Chairman Rep. Mike Rogers echoed Wicker’s complaints. 

‘I am very concerned the requested base budget for defense does not reflect a realistic path to building the military capability we need to achieve President Trump’s Peace Through Strength agenda,’ the Alabama Republican said in a statement.

‘I look forward to working with the President and the Senate to achieve real growth in the defense budget and put America on track to realize the President’s goal of investing five percent of GDP on defense for NATO countries.’

The Trump OMB’s ‘skinny budget,’ released on Friday, proposes cuts to non-defense funding by $163 billion but increases defense funding from $893 billion to $1.01 trillion – a 13% increase. That includes $892.6 billion in discretionary spending, but will be supplemented by $119.3 billion in mandatory spending that is expected to be passed in the upcoming reconciliation bill. 

Senior officials told Fox News the Trump administration needed to get creative to get a $1 trillion-plus budget over the finish line: Republican majorities have historically been forced to offer one-to-one increases in non-defense spending to secure increases in defense spending. 

However, by keeping discretionary defense spending at $892.6 billion, the same level as fiscal year 2025, the budget that would be presented to Democrats would essentially reflect an unchanged defense discretionary budget with a smaller non-defense discretionary budget of about $557 billion – a 22.6% decrease.

The White House and congressional Republicans would then pursue the reset of the defense spending through the budget reconciliation process that is linked to the tax cut package.

But Wicker isn’t satisfied. 

‘OMB is not requesting a trillion-dollar budget. It is requesting a budget of $892.6 billion, which is a cut in real terms. This budget would decrease President Trump’s military options and his negotiating leverage,’ he said. 

‘I have said for months that reconciliation defense spending does not replace the need for real growth in the military’s base budget.’

OMB Director Russ Vought said in a post on X: ‘The President wants to increase defense spending to $1 trillion, a 13% increase to keep our country secure. This budget provides that level while ensuring that only Republican-votes are needed by using reconciliation to secure those increases without Democrats insisting on increasing wasteful government.’

To account for spending decreases across government, all departments were asked to provide recommended budget cuts except for the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Transportation, which were excluded to protect veterans’ services as well as NASA and space exploration programs.

Congress will have to hammer out its own budget plan – which could take months – with the White House’s framework as a suggestion. 

Both Wicker and Rogers have long aimed to grow U.S. defense spending to 5% of the GDP, up from around 3.5 percent. 

The Mississippi senator suggested he would ignore the OMB guidelines and work to achieve ‘real growth’ within the defense budget. 

Fox Business’ Edward Lawrence and Eric Revell contributed to this report.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

Become a VIP member by signing up for our newsletter. Enjoy exclusive content, early access to sales, and special offers just for you! As a VIP, you'll receive personalized updates, loyalty rewards, and invitations to private events. Elevate your experience and join our exclusive community today!



    By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

    You May Also Like

    Latest News

    Sister Stephanie Schmidt had a hunch about what her fellow nuns would discuss over dinner at their Erie, Pennsylvania, monastery on Wednesday night. The...

    Latest News

    In the final three weeks of the presidential race, former president Donald Trump and his advisers have attacked one particular foe more than three...

    Latest News

    “And there’s very few states that benefit like you do from fracking. I mean, you have 500,000 jobs.” — Former president Donald Trump, remarks...

    Latest News

    A former deputy Palm Beach County sheriff who fled to Moscow and became one of the Kremlin’s most prolific propagandists is working directly with...

    Disclaimer: Deluxeinvestmentgroup.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.


    Copyright © 2025 deluxeinvestmentgroup.com