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Trump Administration Considers Another Reconciliation Bill for Defense Spending
The Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vought, has been at the center of several high profile budget and policy moves in the past few days. At the Reagan National Defense Forum this weekend, Vought said the Trump administration has not yet decided whether to pursue a second round of budget reconciliation to add more money to defense spending. He called the earlier reconciliation bill, which added 150 billion dollars in mandatory defense spending, a major success and a paradigm shift that lets the administration fund priorities like shipbuilding, missile defense and nuclear modernization without needing Democratic support.
Vought told defense leaders that resources will be there for defense priorities and that the Pentagon budget will continue to grow with no hole in funding. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also spoke at the forum, suggesting that U.S. defense spending could exceed three percent of GDP, which would put the annual defense budget above one trillion dollars. Hegseth did not specify whether future reconciliation would be used to reach that level, but the current fiscal 2026 budget relies on reconciliation to hit that one trillion dollar figure.
In other recent actions, Vought has signaled that the administration will likely send another rescissions package to Congress soon, following the Senate’s approval of a nine billion dollar package that would cut funding for public broadcasting and foreign aid programs. Vought told reporters there is still strong enthusiasm for these rescissions because lawmakers want to vote on making the cuts permanent. He dismissed concerns from some Republicans and Democrats that rescinding previously appropriated funds could damage bipartisan cooperation on future spending bills.
Vought also recently announced that the Office of Management and Budget has begun issuing Reduction in Force notices to furloughed federal workers, a move that could permanently shrink the federal workforce after any government shutdown. This comes as Congress faces a looming deadline to pass a short term funding measure to avoid a shutdown, with the administration preparing to decide which functions are essential and which employees may be laid off.
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Published on 3 weeks, 4 days ago