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Donald Trump is set to ask US lawmakers for $1.5tn in defence spending, an increase of more than 50 per cent on the current year’s record budget of $901bn.
The dramatic increase would enable the US to build a “dream military” and would be paid for by tariffs, the president said on Wednesday in a post on social media.
“I have determined that, for the Good of our Country, especially in these very troubled and dangerous times, our Military Budget for the year 2027 should not be $1 Trillion Dollars, but rather $1.5 Trillion Dollars,” Trump wrote.
“Because of Tariffs, and the tremendous Income that they bring,” he added, “we are able to easily hit the $1.5 Trillion Dollar number”.
The huge proposed increase in defence spending comes as Trump has increasingly used the military to achieve his foreign policy goals during his second term.
US forces on Wednesday seized a Russian oil tanker in the Atlantic Ocean over alleged sanctions violations, days after a vast operation to capture Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro.
The White House on Tuesday stepped up rhetoric about taking control of Greenland, saying “utilising the US military” was among the options the president was considering.
Trump on Wednesday also said he would “not permit” US defence companies to issue share buybacks or dividends until they responded to his call for military equipment to be produced more quickly and reliably.
He singled out contractor Raytheon, saying: “Either Raytheon steps up, and starts investing more upfront Investment like Plants and Equipment, or they will no longer be doing business with Department of War.”
Trump later issued an executive order directing the defence department to add clauses to contracts with military suppliers preventing them from linking “executive incentive compensation” to “short-term financial metrics”.
The order also called for provisions blocking share buyback and dividends “during a period of underperformance . . . insufficient investment, or insufficient production speed” as determined by defence secretary Pete Hegseth.
Trump said the $1.5tn budget figure had been reached following negotiations with lawmakers and other political representatives.
A 50 per cent increase in defence spending would likely stir concerns about the sustainability of the government’s finances.
The Congressional Budget Office, Congress’s fiscal watchdog, estimates the budget deficit will be 5.5 per cent this year — a level that is lower than in recent years but which many economists believe is unsustainable.
While Trump’s tariffs helped lower the deficit in 2025, the CBO anticipated in November that they would only raise $2.5tn over 11 years — about $230bn a year — a sum far lower than the projected $500bn rise in defence spending.
The president claimed proceeds from the trade levies covered the increase and still enabled the US to reduce the national debt and pay a “substantial dividend” to middle-income Americans.
Additional reporting by Christian Davies
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