Trump, in reversal, calls for Pentagon to raise budget request to $750B: reports
President Trump is reportedly calling for the Pentagon to raise its budget request for next year to $750 billion, significantly more than he previously wanted and $12 billion more than top military officials have been pushing for.
Trump in a tweet last week appeared to call the Department of Defense’s current budget of $716 billion “crazy,” and he has been pushing for a 5 percent cut to its budget as he seeks to trim spending across the federal agencies.
{mosads}But Trump reportedly changed his mind after a Tuesday meeting at the White House involving Defense Secretary James Mattis and the chairmen of the House and Senate Armed Services committees, Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) and Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Politico first reported.
“It’s 750 [billion],” an administration official familiar with the discussions told Politico. “Secretary Mattis secured that over lunch with the president. That’s the top line.” CNN confirmed the report.
Mattis and other top defense officials have been seeking a $733 billion budget for fiscal 2020 as the president has floated a $700 billion budget. That number is now substantially higher, Politico and CNN reported.
The White House, Pentagon and Inhofe did not immediately respond to The Hill’s requests for comment.
The $750 billion figure has not been announced officially yet. The Pentagon is continuing to move forward with a $733 billion proposal, Politico reported.
“There was a discussion with POTUS about how to get $733 billion, and POTUS suggested that if the position is $733 billion, then we should submit a budget at $750 billion as a negotiating tactic,” a source familiar with the discussions told Politico. “That said, the president changes his mind constantly.”
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