Defense Industry Donates Nearly $5 Million to Congress This Year

The defense sector has donated nearly $5 million to members of Congress via political action committees and individual donations so far this year, according to a new report by NOTUS. The contributions came from both traditional firms like Lockheed Martin, RTX and Northrop Grumman as well as newer companies like Anduril.

OpenSecrets reported that these defense industry donations make up only a small percentage of the total cash going to Congress. Republicans and Democrats received the funds. Much of the money went to congressional decision makers who influence legislation on defense acquisition, including the National Defense Authorization Act.

California Rep. Ken Calvert raised roughly $200,000 in campaign funds from PACs and individuals affiliated with companies like RTX, BAE Systems and Leidos. Calvert, a Republican, heads the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee and will face a battle to keep his seat during the midterms this year.

Anduril co-founder Brian Schimpf donated $7,000 to Washington Rep. Adam Smith last quarter. Smith, the Democratic leader on the House Armed Services Committee, received nearly $130,000 in donations from defense industry PACs and individual executives last quarter.

The House Armed Services Committee has jurisdiction over acquisition and industrial base policy, technology transfer and export controls. Rep. , who chairs the committee, received $68,000 in defense industry donations in the first quarter of 2026, including $7,000 from Anduril co-founder Palmer Luckey.

Smith and Rogers co-sponsored the Streamlining Procurement for Effective Execution and Delivery (SPEED) Act. Defense firms have expressed frustration with the current acquisition process, which they describe as tedious and overly bureaucratic. A spokesperson for the Center for Defense Information at the Project On Government Oversight said a major focus over the last year has been to deregulate the defense acquisition process to allow faster procurement and expanded ability to bypass oversight mechanisms.

Rep. , who raised $32,500 from defense industry PACs by March 31, introduced a bill last week that would allow the Secretary of State to issue loans to foreign countries to purchase U.S. arms.

The bill would shift from the current non-repayable grants system to loans that the government expects to be repaid with interest. Mast said in a press release that the bill would ensure continued arming of partners and allies under terms that put America first.

The legislation references the need to strengthen the defense industrial base. A spokesperson for the Center for Defense Information at the Project On Government Oversight stated that a dollar spent on defense creates far fewer jobs than dollars spent otherwise.

The Office of the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation has been gutted under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. A research analyst at the Stimson Center told Military Times that the United States has production capacity limits and that policymakers should focus on operating within those limits rather than assuming money and deregulation will solve production problems.