Defense Budget Alert

President Trump has now heard from a long line of Pentagon and Capitol Hill officials urging him to halt a $33 billion defense budget cut being contemplated by the Office of Management and Budget, including Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-OK), who said he is optimistic that Trump understands the position of GOP defense hawks.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-OK) said today he used a recent White House meeting with President Trump, Vice President Pence and national security adviser John Bolton to urge the administration to forgo a planned $33 billion cut to defense spending.

Military officials nominated to run U.S. Central and Special Operations commands said today that at least $733 billion is necessary to implement the National Defense Strategy, an assertion that aligns them with GOP defense hawks, but runs counter to the White House's position that a $700 billion budget should be considered.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-OK) has an ambitious list of priorities all built around a central line of effort -- increasing the defense budget, despite newly empowered Democrats and a White House looking for spending cuts to offset skyrocketing deficits.

The Defense Department has been forced to absorb nearly $540 billion in reductions to date from statutory spending caps imposed by the 2011 Budget Control Act, including a $200 billion cut to its weapons modernization account.

Though the Defense Department failed to receive a “clean” opinion from auditors who examined more than $2.7 trillion in DOD assets, Pentagon officials say the historic undertaking has provided valuable information that will improve military readiness and cybersecurity.

Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), expected to become the next chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said today he is considering negotiations with GOP defense hawks that could increase defense spending on conventional capabilities in exchange for cuts to the U.S. nuclear arsenal.

President Trump's proposed cut to the defense budget -- and other discretionary spending -- is necessary to address the skyrocketing deficit, according to national security adviser John Bolton, who said the Pentagon can weather the downturn if it spends its funds more wisely.

Deputy Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan said today the Pentagon is building two budgets: one that accounts for total defense spending of $733 billion and one for $700 billion, the amount President Trump has said the he will "probably" seek in fiscal year 2020.