On Tuesday’s broadcast of the Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria,” Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) said that the White House’s $1.5 trillion defense budget request is “going to be tough” to accept, and while there should be increases in defense spending, it shouldn’t reach that level. He also stated that “nondiscretionary funding is about 70% of our funding. Discretionary funding is 30%. And of that, 70% is already our defense budget. So, there’s really not much there, okay, to squeeze out.”
Host Maria Bartiromo asked, “Congressman, I want to get your take on what comes next, in particular, the president’s request for $1.5 trillion defense spending as part of the fiscal 2027 budget, that’s a nearly 40% increase from 2026 levels. This would include roughly $1 trillion in base defense funding, 350 billion in mandatory funding for munitions and industrial capacity, it also maintains funding for the Golden Dome missile defense system using space-based technology. It’s also going to cut billions from…domestic programs, including a proposal to cut 10% in nondefense discretionary spending, including agencies such as NASA, the State Department, the EPA. What does that look like, do you support this plan, and how does this play out?”
Gimenez answered, “I’ve got to look at the details. I sit on [the] Armed Services Committee. That’s a pretty heavy lift, 1.5 trillion. It was pretty hard for us to get to 1 trillion. I do agree that we need to spend more on defense, and whatever it takes for us to protect America, that’s what we need to spend. But I think it’s going to be tough to get to 1.5 trillion. It’ll be some increases in spending, but I’m not sure we’re going to get to 1.5.”
He added that “About 1.2, 1.25, something like that” is the appropriate amount, and added, “[W]hat else is going to get cut? Remember, look, discretionary funding — nondiscretionary funding is about 70% of our funding. Discretionary funding is 30%. And of that, 70% is already our defense budget. So, there’s really not much there, okay, to squeeze out. So, as much as we can squeeze out, we will. But this is going to be a give-and-take, and, also, remember, we’ve got to deal with the Senate, and the Senate isn’t all controlled entirely by Republicans. You have the filibuster, etc., and, so, in order to get an appropriations done, also, we have to get it by the Senate, and I’m not sure that we’re going to get to 1.5 with the Senate.”
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