Stock prices for some of the largest U.S. aerospace and defense firms were up on Thursday morning after President Donald Trump posted a late-night message on Wednesday calling for the Fiscal Year 2027 military budget to reach $1.5 trillion.
“After long and difficult negotiations with Senators, Congressmen, Secretaries, and other Political Representatives, 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. This will allow us to build the ‘Dream Military’ that we have long been entitled to and, more importantly, that will keep us SAFE and SECURE, regardless of foe,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Trump suggested U.S. tariffs could help fund the increase, which the president added would produce an “unparalleled Military Force.” He further promised that the United States will be able to pay down the debt, and provide a “substantial dividend to moderate income Patriots,” which he promised last year.
“If it weren’t for the tremendous numbers being produced by Tariffs from other Countries, many of which, in the past, have ‘ripped off’ the United States at levels never seen before, I would stay at the $1 Trillion Dollar number but, because of Tariffs, and the tremendous Income that they bring, amounts being generated, that would have been unthinkable in the past,” Trump continued.
50% Increase From Current Defense Budget
At $1.5 trillion, it would represent a massive $500 billion increase over the current Pentagon budget, which is already the largest in U.S. history.
The increase would be needed to fund some of the president’s pet projects, including the Golden Dome for America and the newly announced Trump-class battleship.
As Politico reported, “neither of those programs could be fully funded under current spending levels.”
Lawmakers must still approve any defense budget, and it is unclear whether Trump can secure enough support to pass this massive increase, especially as Congress has yet to pass full-year appropriations for fiscal year 2026. Allies of the president may be on board, and some Republican lawmakers have long called for increased DoD spending.
Trump Was Also Critical of the Defense Sector
The calls for an increased Pentagon budget came just hours after Trump criticized the nation’s defense sector, accusing companies of slow deliveries, while he expressed frustration over stock dividends and stock buybacks.
“All United States Defense Contractors, and the Defense Industry as a whole, BEWARE: While we make the best Military Equipment in the World (No other Country is even close!), Defense Contractors are currently issuing massive Dividends to their Shareholders and massive Stock Buybacks, at the expense and detriment of investing in Plants and Equipment. This situation will no longer be allowed or tolerated!” President Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social earlier on Wednesday.
Trump was also critical of executive salaries and the prices of some equipment.
“Defense Companies are not producing our Great Military Equipment rapidly enough and, once produced, not maintaining it properly or quickly. From this moment forward, these Executives must build NEW and MODERN Production Plants, both to deliver and maintain this important Equipment and to build the latest Models of future Military Equipment. Until they do so, no Executive should be allowed to make in excess of $5 Million Dollars which, as high as it sounds, is a mere fraction of what they are making now. Additionally, the maintenance and repair of Equipment, once sold, is far too slow and must be expedited. As President, I am demanding that maintenance be ‘spot on, on time,'” Trump continued.
The president went even further in his calls to rein in the defense sector with an executive order that directed Secretary Pete Hegseth to identify contractors that were underperforming and to “return” the firm(s) to “sufficient performance.”
That included the capping of executive salaries at underperforming companies.
Will It Increase the Debt
Even as President Trump has suggested that the increased Pentagon budget won’t increase the deficit, questions are already being asked about how it can be accomplished.
“President Trump’s proposal to explode the Pentagon budget with a 50% hike next year is as wasteful as it sounds,” Steve Ellis, president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan fiscal watchdog, said in a statement. “Congress is already poised to approve a 13% increase in Pentagon spending this year. We’re over $38 trillion in debt. We have real needs, at home and abroad, none of which will be easier to meet by hitting the gas pedal on the debt crisis. The president says this enormous increase would be offset by tariff revenue. Besides the fact that the math doesn’t add up, he has also promised that revenue to reduce the deficit, send $2000 checks to citizens, bailout farmers impacted by the trade war, and the list goes on. This increase cannot happen. It must not happen. Congress must repudiate this nonsense.”
