The military is the biggest item Congress decides on each year. How much should America spend on it?
Quick estimate
Quick opinion
The situation
The Department of War — called the Department of Defense until President Trump adopted the older name by executive order in September 2025 (the legal name can be changed only by Congress) — is the largest single item of discretionary spending: the spending Congress sets each year, as opposed to programs like Social Security that run on autopilot. It spent about $916 billion in fiscal year 2026, nearly half of all discretionary spending, on troops' pay and benefits, operations, weapons, research and bases.
Funding has risen fast. The 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act added about $150 billion for defense on top of regular appropriations, bringing total defense funding to roughly $1 trillion for 2026. In 2026, the war with Iran added costs — about $37.5 billion by July, according to Secretary Hegseth — and the White House asked Congress for an $87.6 billion supplemental, which Congress had not approved as of August 2026.
For 2027, the President has proposed $1.5 trillion — about $445 billion, or roughly 42%, more than the $1.05 trillion already approved for this year (not counting the unapproved supplemental), and the biggest increase since the Korean War. It would pay for more ships, munitions, the “Golden Dome” missile-defense system and pay raises, with $350 billion of it through a separate reconciliation bill. As of late summer 2026, Congress had not passed full-year defense funding for 2027, and some lawmakers proposed deep cuts instead.
The defense budget doesn't include everything spent on national security. Nuclear weapons are built and maintained by the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration, at about $25 billion a year. Care and benefits for former service members come from the Department of Veterans Affairs, about $435 billion in 2026. Counting these, total national-security spending is well over $1.3 trillion a year.
Historical context
How much of the economy has gone to national defense since 1940? (This broader measure also includes nuclear weapons and a few other defense programs, so it runs a little above the Department of War alone.)
National defense outlays as % of GDP, by fiscal year. The chart is cut off at 20%: during World War II spending peaked at 37.8% of GDP in 1944. 2026 is an estimate.
Before World War II, the US spent around 1–2% of GDP on defense. The war drove it to nearly 38% — the whole economy was mobilized. After demobilization, the Cold War and the Korean War pushed spending back above 14%, and through the 1950s and early 1960s it stayed near 10%. The Vietnam War added a smaller bump, then spending drifted down to under 5% by the late 1970s. President Reagan's buildup raised it to about 6% in the mid-1980s. After the Cold War ended, the “peace dividend” cut it to about 3% by 2000 — the lowest since before World War II. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq after the September 11 attacks lifted it to nearly 5% around 2010; it has since settled back to about 3%. Because the economy has grown, today's 3% buys far more in dollars than 3% did in 2000 — but it is a much smaller share of national income than at any time during the Cold War.
International context
The US spends far more than any other country in dollars: about $954 billion in 2025 by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute's broad measure — about a third of the world's total of $2.9 trillion. As a share of its economy, though, it is in the middle of the pack among major powers: well below countries at war or under threat, like Russia, Israel and Saudi Arabia, but above most of its allies. (SIPRI's 3.1% for the US is higher than the 2.8% above because it also counts military retirement, nuclear weapons and other defense-related spending.) Many US allies are now raising their military budgets fast: NATO members agreed in 2025 to aim for 3.5% of GDP on core defense by 2035.
Effects of change options
Here are four options for next year's defense budget, from the deep cut proposed by some in Congress to the President's request. How would each change the deficit?
| Option | Defense funding, FY2027 | Change in deficit | Per household, per year | Inequality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cap at $750 billion | Cap Pentagon funding at $750 billion a year, as proposed by Sen. Ed Markey (June 2026) — about 30% below today. | |||
| $750B (2.3% of GDP) | −$305B (−0.9% of GDP) | −$2,276 | Little direct effect. Defense jobs and contracts are spread across incomes. | |
| Cut by 10% | Trim total defense funding by about a tenth, for example by cutting weapons programs or overseas deployments. | |||
| $950B (2.9% of GDP) | −$105B (−0.3% of GDP) | −$784 | Little direct effect. Defense jobs and contracts are spread across incomes. | |
| Keep about the same | Keep total defense funding around this year's level of about $1.05 trillion, rising only with inflation. | |||
| $1,055B (3.2% of GDP) | — | — | Little direct effect. Defense jobs and contracts are spread across incomes. | |
| Raise to $1.5 trillion | Fund the President's FY2027 request of $1.5 trillion — about 42% more — for shipbuilding, munitions, Golden Dome missile defense and pay raises. | |||
| $1,500B (4.5% of GDP) | +$445B (+1.3% of GDP) | +$3,321 | Little direct effect. Defense jobs and contracts are spread across incomes. | |
Red = deficit goes up; green = deficit goes down. Changes are measured against about $1.05 trillion of total defense funding in FY2026 (regular appropriations plus reconciliation), assuming no offsetting tax or spending changes. Per household = change ÷ about 134 million households. Rough, static estimates.
Pros and cons
A strong, well-equipped military discourages aggression by rivals such as China, Russia and Iran — and wars are far more costly than preventing them.
China is building ships and missiles fast, and recent wars have used up stocks of munitions. Rebuilding and modernizing forces takes years, so it has to start now.
The US backs alliances such as NATO and partners in Asia and the Middle East. Keeping those promises credible requires forces that can deploy anywhere.
Every dollar for the military is a dollar not spent on health, education, infrastructure or cutting the deficit — or left with taxpayers.
The Pentagon has never passed a full financial audit, and many weapons programs run years late and billions over budget. More money is not the same as more security.
The US already accounts for about a third of the world's military spending — more than its main rivals combined — and its allies are now spending more themselves.
Contributed pros and cons
What notable people have said. Rate how much you agree with each.
RR
DT
RW
MR
DEDT
EMConsidered opinion
NextRed Ink — Deficit & DebtSpendingForeign aidInequality
Wonkery
Spending figures are outlays (money actually paid out) from the Congressional Budget Office; GDP for fiscal year 2026 is about $32.2 trillion. The history uses OMB's national defense outlays (budget function 050). International comparisons use the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), whose broader definition of military spending makes the US figure higher than the Department of War alone. Per-household figures divide by about 134 million households. The effects of change options are static: they ignore any effects on the economy.