President Donald Trump is pushing Congress to approve another $350 billion in military spending, potentially delivering a massive windfall to America’s defense industry.
Trump urged Senate Republicans to immediately advance the reconciliation package before Democrats take control of Congress in January, arguing that the funding is necessary to strengthen the military, according to his Thursday post to Truth Social.
The proposed $350 billion spending hike is part of the administration’s broader $1.5 trillion defense budget request — which includes major investments in weapons production, military technology and the domestic defense industrial base.
“TODAY I am calling on Senate Leadership to IMMEDIATELY move on the 350 Billion Dollar Reconciliation Bill to give our brave Warriors the DECISIVE ADVANTAGE they deserve. Our Military must be strong, powerful, and respected,” the post read.
The White House did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
This announcement occurred in the backdrop of American weapons systems being depleted by the Iran war.
“The munitions expenditure in [Operation Epic Fury] has resulted in strategic inventory shortfalls and revealed industrial base bottlenecks for munitions resupply…defense industrial base requires ‘significant lead time’ to expand production capacities,” the Congressional Research Service reported.
House Freedom Caucus Andy Harris doubled down on his support for an increase in the defense budget when DCNF congressional correspondent Nicole Silverio pressed him on the issue during a Wednesday press conference.
“Asking that on Veteran’s Day is a little interesting,” Harris — a Maryland Republican whose caucus is known for backing fiscally hawkish policies — replied to Silverio. “The fact of the matter is we live in a very dangerous world … we have to fight 21st century wars with 21st century weaponry.”
Trump’s backing of this bill is the latest development in a series of events suggesting that the U.S. might be preparing for a major conflict.
The U.S. Army conducted an exercise in digging mass temporary battlefield graves in late October. Both Europe and the U.S. have rolled out programs for responses to potential power grid outages.
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