Sen. Wicker: Trump Budget to 'Shred' Military Capabilities

Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released a statement Friday sharply questioning President Donald Trump's proposed budget that leaves military spending flat and argued it goes against the president's "peace through strength" initiative.

"President Trump successfully campaigned on a Peace Through Strength agenda, but his advisers at the Office of Management and Budget were apparently not listening. For the defense budget, OMB has requested a fifth year straight of Biden administration funding, leaving military spending flat, which is a cut in real terms," Wicker said. "The Big, Beautiful Reconciliation Bill was always meant to change fundamentally the direction of the Pentagon on programs like Golden Dome, border support, and unmanned capabilities – not to paper over OMB's intent to shred to the bone our military capabilities and our support to service members."

Earlier in the day, Trump released his much-anticipated budget for fiscal year 2026 that includes proposals for $163 billion in cuts. Non-defense discretionary spending will be at it lowest level since 2000 when adjusted for inflation, according to a senior OMB official.

While Trump's budget proposes a 13% increase in defense spending and a 65% in border security at the Department of Homeland Security, Wicker warned that the $892.6 billion allocated for the military would not deter the many emerging threats the U.S. faces.

"We face an Axis of Aggressors led by the Chinese Communist Party, who have already started a trade war rather than negotiate in good faith," Wicker's statement read. "We need a real Peace Through Strength agenda to ensure Xi Jinping does not launch a military war against us in Asia, beyond his existing military support to the Russians, the Iranians, Hamas, and the Houthis."

In April, the House passed the budget supported by Trump, but now Republicans in the Senate must work to to create Trump's long envisioned "big, beautiful bill." Trump's budget can only become law if it passed by Congress, but the details outlined in Friday's proposal will serve as a blueprint for Republicans to work through how to get as much of the president's agenda on the books before the 2026 midterm elections.