Defense ask tops budgets

President Donald Trump’s 2027 budget puts defense first, while Senate Republicans are still trying to close a Homeland Security funding gap. (pbs.org) Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought was scheduled to testify before the House Budget Committee at 10:15 a.m. Eastern on Wednesday, April 15. The White House budget calls for $1.5 trillion in defense spending for 2027, a 44% increase, and PBS called it the largest such request in decades. (pbs.org) The same budget document says the administration was writing its plan while the 2026 Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill was still not enacted and the last continuing resolution had lapsed. That means one of the government’s annual spending bills was already unresolved as the next year’s budget arrived. (whitehouse.gov) The president’s budget is a policy blueprint, not a law. Congress writes and passes appropriations bills, and PBS noted lawmakers are free to reject the White House request even when it sets the political agenda. (pbs.org) The White House paired the military increase with a 10% cut to non-defense programs. PBS also reported the plan seeks a 13% increase for the Department of Justice, a $481 million increase tied to air traffic controller hiring and aviation safety, and continued detention capacity through Homeland Security funding assumptions. (pbs.org) On Capitol Hill, Senate Republicans have been trying to move a narrower Homeland Security bill instead of a broader package. Bloomberg reported on April 10 that Trump and Senate Republican leaders backed a fast-track measure focused on immigration enforcement and the Border Patrol, while pushing back on demands from some House Republicans for tax cuts and entitlement changes. (bloomberg.com) That fight grew out of a partial Homeland Security shutdown that had already hit airport security operations. Bloomberg reported on March 27 that the Senate passed legislation to fund most of the department after long Transportation Security Administration lines and staff shortages raised pressure on both parties. (bloomberg.com) House conservatives resisted that Senate approach and sought to add immigration money and a voter identification measure. Bloomberg said those objections stalled a quick House approval even after the Senate acted by voice vote. (bloomberg.com) The result is a split-screen budget season: the administration is asking Congress to finance a much larger military, while Republicans are still struggling to finish one of the current year’s unfinished spending bills. Vought’s hearing on April 15 puts both pressures in one room. (whitehouse.gov) (budget.house.gov)