US Congress approves record $901 billion defence budget for 2026

The US Congress has approved a draft military budget for the 2026 fiscal year at a record $901 billion. The vote in the Senate, the upper chamber of the US legislature, was broadcast by C-SPAN.

Seventy-seven senators voted in favour of the bill, which the House of Representatives had already approved on 10 December, while 20 voted against it. With congressional approval secured, the defence budget bill will now be sent to President Donald Trump for signature.

The military budget proposed by lawmakers exceeds the president’s request by $8 billion. The US president had asked Congress to allocate $892.6 billion for defence needs. This amount includes funding for both the Pentagon and other agencies and programmes related to defence and security. Initially, the House of Representatives proposed a figure matching the administration’s request, while the Senate advocated increasing the defence budget to $925 billion. Lawmakers ultimately agreed on a compromise figure.

The draft budget provides, among other things, for the allocation of $400 million to support Ukraine in both 2026 and 2027. In addition, the bill obliges the head of the Pentagon to report to the House of Representatives and the Senate on any temporary suspension or termination of the provision of intelligence to Ukraine.

The US military budget for the 2025 fiscal year, which ended on 30 September, amounted to $884 billion.

By Vugar Khalilov