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Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & NatSec newsletter

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Defense &
National Security

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The Big Story

Trump’s budget is here; GOP defense hawks aren’t happy

Prominent defense hawks on Capitol Hill on Friday slammed President Trump’s 2026 budget request as inadequate, amid growing threats from China, Russia and other adversaries.

House Armed Services Committee Chair Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) said Friday he was “very concerned” about the president’s defense spending request.

“We are currently at the lowest level of defense spending as a percentage of GDP since before World War II. That is no longer sustainable in the threat environment we face,” he warned in a statement.

“I am very concerned the requested base budget for defense does not reflect a realistic path to building the military capability we need to achieve President Trump’s Peace Through Strength agenda,” he said, adding he looks forward to working with the president and Senate allies to “achieve real growth in the defense budget.”

Former Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), who now chairs the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, said the White House request would extend the Biden administration’s “material neglect” of defense spending needs.

“The Trump administration missed a tremendous opportunity to answer their predecessor’s chronic underinvestment in the U.S. military with robust, full-year funding for [fiscal 2025.] Now, it appears the Trump Administration’s FY26 defense budget request will double down on the Biden administration’s material neglect for the glaring national security threat challenges about which they speak with great alarm,” McConnell said in a statement.

While the White House budget office touted its proposal for raising defense spending by 13 percent to $1.01 trillion in fiscal 2026, critics on Capitol Hill argued the Office of Management and Budget plans to meet that target by pulling $119 billion from the pot of money expected to be included for defense in the budget reconciliation bill — the package that will extend the 2017 tax cuts and provide $175 billion for border security.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) criticized the White House proposal for keeping the annual discretionary defense spending level flat at $893 billion.

“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 in a statement.

And Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) said she had “serious objections” to what she called “the proposed freeze in our defense funding,” citing the “security challenges” the nation faces.

Read the full report at TheHill.com.

Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & National Security newsletter, I’m Ellen Mitchell — your guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond.

Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.

Essential Reads

How policy will affect defense and national security now and in
the future:

Democrats eye Musk’s role in missile defense shield

A group of 42 Democratic lawmakers wants the Pentagon’s watchdog to look into billionaire Elon Musk’s role in the contracting process for the “Golden Dome” missile defense shield, a project pushed by President Trump meant to protect the U.S. homeland from incoming missiles. In a letter sent to the Defense Department inspector general on Thursday, the House and Senate lawmakers asked for a review …

Full Story

Rubio: Ukraine peace deal ‘closer,’ but sides still ‘a little far apart’

Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated Thursday that a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine is still on the horizon but noted the eastern European nations are still very much at odds with “no military solution.” “I think we know where Ukraine is, and we know where Russia is right now and where [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is. They’re still far apart,” he told Fox News’s Sean Hannity. “They’re …

Full Story

Senate GOP chair knocks Trump budget over military spending

Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) knocked President Trump’s 2026 budget proposal on Friday for not doing enough to keep pace with military threats from China, Russia and other adversaries. Wicker warned the spending level called by the White House budget would “decrease President Trump’s military options and his negotiating leverage.” “President Trump successfully campaigned on a Peace Through Strength …

Full Story

On Our Radar

Upcoming things we’re watching on our beat:

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to visit the White House on Tuesday, May 6.

In Other News

Branch out with a different read from The Hill:

11 top contenders to replace Waltz as national security adviser

National security adviser Mike Waltz is out, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio replacing him on an interim basis. President Trump announced Thursday afternoon that Waltz, a former House GOP lawmaker, would instead be his next nominee for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. “From his time in …

Full Story

On Tap Monday

Events in and around the defense world:

Atlantic Council will discuss “Russia’s war in Ukraine: Where are negotiations today?” at 9 a.m.
The Cato Institute will have a conversation on “A Fork in the Road: The Stark Choices on U.S.-Iran Policy,” at 11 a.m.
The Air and Space Forces Association will hold a talk on Space superiority and building a warrior culture at 3 p.m.

What We’re Reading

News we’ve flagged from other outlets:

Senators voice ‘deep concerns’ about Trump’s pick for Air Force under secretary (Military.com)
US creating second military zone to detain migrants (The Associated Press)

Trending Today

Two key stories on The Hill right now:

Greene furious over Ukraine minerals deal, Iran talks: ‘The base is not happy’

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) unloaded a heap of criticism Friday on recent actions and inactions by the Trump administration and fellow Republicans, … Read more

White House unveils budget request with deep cuts: 5 things to know

The White House on Friday called for significant cuts to nondefense programs as part of President Trump’s fiscal 2026 budget request, while proposing … Read more