In the midst of the war in Iran, the “peace through strength” policy championed by Donald Trump comes at a staggering cost. On Friday, April 3, the White House revealed its budget proposal for 2027. A 42% increase in defense spending is being requested for the year. This is despite already massive defense expenditures (901 billion dollars in 2026) that rank the United States as number one worldwide.
This time, the increase would amount to 445 billion dollars for the year 2027, compared to 2026, as noted by Les Echos. Will the Parliament, currently controlled by the Republican party, approve these military expenses for 2027? This decision comes as the approaching midterm elections could pose challenges for Donald Trump and his party. The repercussions of this plan for the military could reflect negatively on the president and the elected officials of the Grand Old Party.
According to the White House, to fund this massive military budget, non-military spending would decrease by around 10%. Specifically, according to ABC News, 15 billion dollars in clean energy subsidies from the Department of Energy would be cancelled. The television network also mentions “a 19% decrease in agricultural spending and a reduction of 1.4 billion dollars from the IRS budget.” Additionally, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a public medical research agency, would face a 5 billion dollar budget cut.
Other sectors that would be affected include programs related to gender, racial or sexual discrimination, climate change, as well as development aid projects and humanitarian assistance. On the other hand, spending on immigration policy and security issues would increase. For instance, 152 million dollars would be allocated to reopen Alcatraz prison.
With the “midterms” on the horizon, the legislative process looks challenging for the Trump administration to pass this monumental increase. Some conservative lawmakers are hesitant to vote on a budget that does not address the issue of the American public debt (over 39 trillion dollars). Already, a Republican senator has stated opposition to Trump’s proposal on constitutional grounds. “Americans want healthcare expenses, not war expenses,” responded the Democratic lawmakers in the House of Representatives to the American president.
