Pentagon Plans For Death Of Trump’s Record Military Budget

The Pentagon is quietly preparing for a $400 billion cut to President Donald Trump’s military budget, as officials realize the president’s record-breaking request is effectively dead.

The administration has pushed Congress for a supersized $1.5 trillion investment in the military — the largest in history. The money would overhaul weapons stockpiles and realize Trump’s dreams for everything from a sprawling missile shield to a fleet of nuclear-powered battleships.

But the Pentagon and congressional spending committees are drafting a smaller $1.1 trillion defense budget, according to a defense industry official, two former officials and one other person familiar with the matter. The planning — which runs contrary to what administration officials are saying publicly — is a clear indication of the political headwinds facing Republicans after the midterm elections.

“The Pentagon can’t admit this,” said one of the people who, like the others, was granted anonymity to speak about internal discussions.

The administration has hinged its unprecedented defense budget on a party-line process called reconciliation. This would allow Republican lawmakers to add $350 billion to a $1.15 trillion defense base budget, despite objections from Democrats.

Now, Pentagon planners are evaluating what defense programs they will be forced to prioritize in the face of reduced funding, the people said.

“None of them expect anywhere close to 1.5 trillion,” one of the former officials said. “They are absolutely developing plans [for less] and that is much more the expectation than anything close to 1.5 trillion.”

The White House referred questions to the Pentagon, which did not respond to a request for comment.

The cuts could scramble the Defense Department’s efforts to procure new weapons platforms, enter into new agreements with the defense industry or even continue existing programs.

It could also affect how quickly the U.S. can rebuild weapons stockpiles severely depleted by the Iran war. The Pentagon’s latest estimates show at least $47 billion in costs associated with the conflict, with the lion’s share of that bill, $29 billion, stemming from critical munitions replacements.

Trump administration officials have not offered any alternatives — at least not publicly.

Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought insisted this month that “we’re not planning on failure.” The administration has not developed alternatives to fund critical Pentagon programs if Congress doesn’t back the White House’s plan, he said.

But GOP infighting in both chambers has already imperiled the odds of passing even one piece of the $1.5 trillion total. Top Senate Republicans have warned they don’t have enough votes to pass a party-line spending package. And House Republicans have threatened to withhold their votes over the administration’s handling of foreign policy and a reluctance to devote more money to the military.

"Republicans are increasingly angry at the administration on the defense front,” said the former official. It’s “unlikely that anything drastic, a $1.5 trillion budget, would happen.”

Lawmakers will return to Washington next month with fewer than five legislative weeks to accomplish a wide range of objectives before the year’s end. If Democrats win control over one or both chambers next week, the GOP will have less than two months to push their priorities through.