Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Mark Thompson
“On April 9, the White House gave the Pentagon 90 days to come up with a list of weapons programs that are at least 15% over budget or behind schedule for potential termination. You know, because we’re getting too little bang for our bucks. That came two days after President Trump said his administration has approved a $1 trillion defense budget for 2026, which represents a 18% boost over its current $850 billion level. ‘We are very cost conscious,’ he said, ‘but the military is something that we have to build and we have to be strong because you have a lot of bad forces out there now.’ That’s kind of like telling your kids to tighten their belts while you’re boosting their allowance.” (04/18/25)