The US military’s defense capabilities have been ignored for too long. And President Donald Trump’s record $1 trillion defense budget proposal will help reverse the course, a former Pentagon official told the Daily Caller.
However, opponents argue that dramatic increases in spending are unnecessary and useless.
Trump announced the proposal in April, in an incident with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“We basically approved the budget… $1 trillion,” Trump said. “And no one has seen anything like that. We have to build an army. We identify very costly, but the army is something we have to build and you have a lot of bad power out there now, so we have to be strong.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegses reiterated Trump’s sentiment, saying the budget would fund “lethality and preparation.” (Related: Top Heggs Advisors on Vacation in the Pentagon Intelligence Leak Probe)
Thank you to the President!
Coming soon: First Trillion Dollar @deptofdefense budget.
president @RealdonaldTrump Rebuilding our army – and fast.
(PS: We’re going to spend all taxpayer dollars wisely – lethal and preparation pic.twitter.com/wczlnahgdg
– Pete Hegseth (@petehegseth) April 7, 2025
Former Department of Defense officials need an increase in budgets to ensure that the military has the capabilities needed to protect the United States.
Much of the defense budget is directed towards non-lethal defence spending, he added.
He pointed to the National Defense Certification Act (NDDA), which is passed annually by Congress, and funded the US military.
“Politicians know where it is… they’ll bring the pork back to their hometown,” he said. “They’ll ladle it [NDAA]and it is assigned. ”
As a result, the defense budget includes programs that are not related to national security.
Trump is also pushing members of the National Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to increase defense spending and reduce their dependence on the United States.
Today I had the opportunity to direct the first city hall with a proud civil servant who runs the pentagon. I shared three pillars with them and shared the next four years of reviving the spirit of warriors, restoring trust in the army, matching and rebuilding them… pic.twitter.com/jrgggpiliq
– Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses (@secdef) February 8, 2025
Supporters also say the US is relying too much on its enemy for key elements.
China exports antimony, an important mineral for the production of military equipment such as bullets and ammunition, according to the Center for Strategic and International Research (CSIS).
“It’s a very dangerous place and you need to make lots of investments to fix it. It’s been a long-standing neglect to require a significant budget increase to make it happen,” a former Pentagon official told the caller. (Related: Pete Hegses warns terrorists that “we’ll get worse unless we stop shooting on our ships)
But others have warned of an increase in defense spending.
“We can provide robust defense of the United States and its allies of less than $1 trillion a year,” Bill Harton, a senior researcher at the Quincy National Institute of Responsibility (QI), told the caller.
“The key is to adopt a more realistic strategy that doesn’t involve going anywhere on earth to fight war, and to rely on allies to do more in their own defense. If they can’t even spend enough of their current budget, the Pentagon is to throw more money.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegses listens when President Donald J. Trump meets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House Oval Office in Washington, DC on Monday, April 7, 2025. (Photo by the Washington Post via Jaybin Botsford/Getty Images)
In particular, the Pentagon failed seven consecutive audits, including its most recent November 2024 audit.
Critics of the rise in defense spending point to the sudden cost of military interventionism.
Brown University’s War Cost project The war that began after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, including Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, was found to cost around $8 trillion.
The president signed an executive order in April, mandating a review of the Defense Acquisition Program.
Hegseth is considering considering and considering the possibility of canceling a major Defense Gaining Program (MDAP) of 15% or more with cost or schedule delays within 90 days, depending on your order.
However, QI was pushed back on Monday, claiming that the order was not responsible for the pentagon.
“Read detailed print: They are “considered only for potential cancellations,” Qi posted on Monday. “Again: The Pentagon has zero accountability.”
Trump claims to cancel the 15% defense program against the budget.
It will kill almost every major weapons program.
Read fine print: they are only “considered for potential cancellations.”
Once again: The Pentagon has zero accountability.
– Quincy Institute (@quincyinst) April 14, 2025
Elon Musk’s Office of Government Efficiency (DOGE) focuses on wasteful government programs.
“I don’t think raising sector spending is at odds with what Doge is doing,” a former Pentagon official told the caller. “And I think Doge is essential… departments need to be able to pass audits. They have to find places where their money is wasted.”
DOD directed callers to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for questions about the proposal, but pointed out Heggs’ comments about his decadent spending efforts to the callers.
In April, Heggs signed a memo ordering $5.1 billion “wasteful spending” I discovered it By Doge. (Related: Pentagon Spox: Trump administrators have the “duty” to hold responsible officials involved in Afghanistan’s withdrawal)
“[DOGE is] Here they’re built into what we’re doing with DOD and find fraud, waste and abuse at the biggest discretionary budget of the federal government.” It is listed February.
The caller reached out to OMB, but received no response at the time of publication.
