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Pentagon Budget Exceeds $1 Trillion with Proposed Increases
The U.S. Pentagon budget has exceeded $1 trillion, with President Trump proposing an additional $500 billion increase. This funding supports military operations including interventions in Venezuela and a war in the Middle East. Analysts highlight rising costs and diminishing economic returns from such spending.
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The Pentagon announced a $200 billion supplemental appropriation request to cover costs of the war on Iran, which has spread across the Middle East. An analysis indicated that the war cost the United States more than $28 billion in its first two weeks.
This amount is more than three times the proposed annual budgets for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Environmental Protection Agency. Reports suggest the supplemental request may shrink to $98 billion, incorporating funds for disaster relief and aviation modernization in addition to war expenses.
President Trump has alternated between negotiations to end the war and threats of further action.
from the war on Iran, along with support for Israel’s war on Gaza and Ukraine’s efforts to defend itself from Russia, have led to concerns over shortages of artillery shells, bombs, and missiles. The Pentagon and weapons corporations have called for increased production to address these shortages.
During his 2024 campaign, President Trump pledged to drive war profiteers from Washington and noted he had no wars in his first term. In his second term, he has pledged to help the weapons industry quadruple production of bombs and missile interceptors.
“I had no wars." — President Trump, referring to his first term, as stated in the TomDispatch article (April 28, 2026). A shift toward diplomacy-first approaches and restrained military action has been suggested as an alternative to expanding arms manufacturing. The current strategy echoes warnings from President Dwight D. Eisenhower about the military-industrial complex over six decades ago.”
jobs in arms production have fallen to 1.1 million, one-third of the level from 30 years ago, according to the arms industry's trade association. Unionization rates in the sector have also declined, with some firms having rates below 10%. States provide tax breaks and subsidies to attract weapons factories, in addition to federal funding.
