Senate panel approves $852 billion defense budget, exceeding Trump’s request

Investing.com -- The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday approved an $852 billion defense budget for fiscal 2026, exceeding President Donald Trump’s request by $21.7 billion.

The legislation represents a 2.6% increase from the administration’s budget proposal and does not include military construction funds, which fall under different jurisdiction.

A significant portion of the increase - $7.3 billion - is allocated to bolster munitions production, with $5.2 billion designated for additional armaments and $2.1 billion for manufacturing facilities.

"Recent operations in the Middle East illustrates how quickly modern warfare can exhaust our arsenal of critical munitions," said Senator Mitch McConnell, chairman of the defense spending panel. The funding aims to enhance capacity for air defense interceptors and long-range fires.

The committee also restored $800 million for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which the Trump administration had eliminated from its budget request. Congress has typically approved $300 million for this account in previous years.

For Indo-Pacific security, the panel maintained the requested $1 billion for Taiwan Presidential Drawdown Authority while adding $500 million to the $1 billion requested for the Indo-Pacific deterrence fund, according to Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriation Defense panel.

The committee supported the Pentagon’s plan to reduce purchases of Lockheed Martin Corp (NYSE:LMT)’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and did not add funding for additional aircraft. It also backed the Army’s decision to halt its light tank and Joint Light Tactical Vehicle programs.

For the Navy’s next-generation fighter aircraft program (F/A-XX), the legislation includes $1.4 billion after the Office of Management and Budget had eliminated the Navy’s funding request for this initiative.

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