Republicans Advance Largest Pentagon Budget in History while Cutting Billions from Domestic Investments

WASHINGTON - Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee today advanced their 2027 funding bill during the full committee markup. The bill sets the Pentagon budget at more than $1 trillion - the largest in U.S. history and a $234 billion increase over 2026. The excessive increase in Defense spending comes as Republicans propose nearly $13 billion in cuts to domestic programs that support working people struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.

The legislation:

• Abandons our allies and partners by failing to support Ukraine with funding for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative and allowing the Administration to cut forces in Europe.
• Allows Secretary Pete Hegseth to arbitrarily cut $1 billion from across the Department of Defense without consulting Congress, further ceding power to the Trump Administration under the false assumption of savings from the use of Artificial Intelligence tools.
• Undermines democracy at home and harms our military readiness by deploying National Guard to the District of Columbia for "beautification" activities and to other U.S. cities at the President's will.
  

"The American people overwhelmingly oppose President Trump's war with Iran. Instead of listening to their concerns about the cost of living and holding President Trump accountable, this bill doubles down on the President's war of choice by providing the Department of Defense with over a trillion dollars. It's an unprecedented sum that comes at the cost of funding for our nation's education, workforce training, and international diplomacy. Cutting funding for engineering, math, and science programs will hamstring our future national security workforce. Cuts to the Department of State will paralyze American diplomatic efforts at a time when threats to our nation are growing, not shrinking. Instead, Republicans have prioritized support for an unnecessary National Guard mobilization in Washington, D.C. and funding a battleship that has not even been designed yet." Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Betty McCollum (D-MN-04) said. "My constituents sent me to Washington to stand against the war, invest in diplomacy, and deliver lower costs for working families. That is what I intend to do, and I will oppose this legislation until we can find a bipartisan consensus on our funding priorities."

Congresswoman McCollum's opening remarks as prepared for delivery are here.

"At a time when American families are begging for relief from high prices, the Trump administration is deaf to their pleas. Instead of providing relief, they are cutting domestic programs that support families who are struggling with the cost of living." Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) said. "At the same time they proposing nearly $13 billion in cuts to domestic investments, they are proposing the most expensive military budget in American history. More than $1 trillion for the Pentagon, and the administration has come back to Congress with another request for even more funding. It is a $1.1 trillion floor, but who knows how high the ceiling will be. Despite the excessive increase in funding proposed in this bill, it does not include funding for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. Our partners and allies deserve better than broken promises. I support a strong national defense. I support the courageous men and women who serve our country in uniform. And I understand the need to make investments accordingly. But we need not cut non-defense programs that lower costs and help families afford basic necessities like groceries, housing, childcare and health care. We ought to work together to provide relief for American families. That is what I intend to do as we continue our work on this committee."

Congresswoman DeLauro's opening remarks as prepared for delivery are here.

Republicans amended the bill to include a series of hyper-partisan, culture-war provisions that target LGBTQ+ servicemembers, restrict access to reproductive healthcare for servicemembers, and change the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War which would cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

In contrast, Democrats offered amendments to:

• Rescind a proposed budget rule that would inject partisan politics into grant funding.
• Apply the same basic guardrails that the Appropriations Committee includes in their bills to money passed through reconciliation.
• Increase funding for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative by $400 million.
• Prevent the abrupt withdrawal of U.S. forces from Europe, abandoning our allies.
• Remove funding for President Trump's Golden Dome vanity project.
• Remove funding for the continued deployment of National Guard troops in the District of Columbia.
• Prohibit the use of funds for war in Iran.
• Investigate potentially corrupt loans to companies with ties to the Trump family.
• Limit the Secretary of Defense's travel budget by 25% until he provides justification for the removal of certain military officers.

A summary of House Republicans' 2027 Defense bill is here. A fact sheet of the bill is here. The full text of the bill is here.

###