One source said the Pentagon “can’t admit” it’s implementing its contingency plan.
Pentagon officials are secretly preparing for Donald Trump’s demand for a record $1.5 trillion defense budget to fail, according to a report.
For months, the Trump administration, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, has called on Congress to fund a massive $1.5 trillion Pentagon budget to fund military projects such as a “Golden Fleet” battleship or a proposed “Golden Dome” missile defense system, as well as to replenish severely depleted stockpiles used in the Iran war.
However, the record military budget request has struggled to attract the bipartisan support it needs. With the Republican Party at risk of losing control of the House and Senate in next week’s midterms, the Pentagon is quietly preparing to draft a budget that cuts $400 billion from the president’s request.
“None of them expect anything close to $1.5 trillion,” a former official told Politico. “They are absolutely making plans (for less) and it’s way more than we would expect at almost 1.5 trillion.”
Politico said Pentagon officials realized the president’s $1.5 trillion request was “effectively dead.”
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters/Kevin Lamarque
Another source familiar with the plans admitted that the Pentagon “cannot admit” that it is preparing for a reduction in the military budget because it would run counter to what administration officials have said about exceeding the military budget by $1.5 trillion.
The Trump administration believes Congress can approve all military funding through a process called reconciliation, which allows the Senate to pass certain spending bills with a simple majority of 51 votes instead of the usual 60-vote threshold.
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Through this process, Republican lawmakers could add $350 billion to a base defense budget of $1.15 trillion.
Trump’s request for a $1.5 trillion defense budget represents a nearly 50 percent increase.
Puce Somodevilla/Getty Images
Some Senate Republicans have expressed doubt that reconciliation would be successful if the Republican Party lost control of the House or Senate in the midterms.
When Congress returns after the Nov. 3 election, Republicans will have less than five weeks to vote on several bills before the new congressional term begins.
“If we lose control of Congress, it will be the Last Supper,” Ohio MAGA Sen. Bernie Moreno previously told Politico, adding that the reconciliation plan would be less likely to “happen” if Democrats took control of either chamber.
“Republicans are increasingly angry with the administration on the defense front,” the former official added. “(It’s) unlikely that something drastic, a $1.5 trillion budget, will happen.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House and Pentagon for comment.
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