Department of Defense Heeds Merkley, Senate Budget Committee Democrats’ Call to Release Unclassified Spend Plan for National Security Funding from the Big, Ugly Betrayal Law

Department of Defense Heeds Merkley, Senate Budget Committee Democrats' Call to Release Unclassified Spend Plan for National Security Funding from the Big, Ugly Betrayal Law

Hegseth Was Preventing Congressional Oversight by Classifying the Full Spend Plan

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, after Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, led Senate Budget Committee Democrats in demanding answers from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth about his decision to classify the Department of Defense's reconciliation spending plan, the Pentagon has finally released an unclassified spending plan. Hegseth's obfuscation prevented Congress from conducting proper oversight to ensure that the funds were being used as intended and has raised concerns that this money was being treated as a slush fund.

After Republicans added $150 billion through reconciliation, the defense budget already totaled over $900 billion in FY2026 - the highest in American history. Hegseth and President Trump are now pushing for a $1.5 trillion defense budget in FY2027 - a more than $500 billion increase over current levels - even as the Department of Defense is struggling to identify ways to justify such a dramatic increase.

"For an administration that claims to be 'the most transparent in American history,' it shouldn't take Congressional pressure to release an unclassified version of its reconciliation spending plan. Congress has a constitutional duty to follow the money. And at a moment when the Administration is planning to propose a $1.5 trillion defense budget-the largest in American history- transparency and oversight are more essential than ever.

"As Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, I will keep holding Trump and Hegseth accountable and work with my colleagues to tackle waste, fraud, and abuse," said Ranking Member Merkley.

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