Bloomberg: Trump to ask congress for record $1.01 trillion national security budget

US President Donald Trump is expected to propose a record $1.01 trillion in national security spending for fiscal year 2026, marking a more than 13% increase over the current year.

This information has been published by Bloomberg, citing administration officials familiar with the plan, Caliber.Az reports.

The proposed budget that is set to be officially released on May 2 as part of the administration’s “skinny” budget request, reportedly will outline top priorities including the Golden Dome missile defence system (formerly titled Iron Dome in Trump's initial executive order, named after the Israeli missile defence system), naval shipbuilding, nuclear modernization, and border security. It also includes a 3.8% pay raise for military personnel.

In comments to the publication, one unnamed official likened the sharp increase to the defence buildup of the 1980s under President Ronald Reagan, the 40th Republican president, often compared to Trump for their shared conservative and hardline leadership style.

While the Trump administration has targeted some Pentagon programs for cost-cutting in line with Elon Musk’s broader efficiency push, the article believes it continues to push for overall defence budget growth.

The $1.01 trillion request is also going to include defence-related spending at the Department of Energy, the FBI, and other national security agencies. It would represent roughly 3.2% of the US gross domestic product, in line with fiscal 2024 levels and up from this year’s $892.3 billion.

This figure surpasses a proposal put forward in November by former President Joe Biden’s Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, who had recommended a five-year plan beginning with $926.5 billion for FY2026.

By Nazrin Sadigova