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President Donald Trump’s plan to boost defense spending 50% to $1.5 trillion has reportedly run into some resistance, including fears about adding to the $38.5 trillion mountain of U.S. debt.
Sources told The Washington Post that White House budget chief Russell Vought was among the critics of giving the Pentagon an additional $500 billion, warning on its potential impact on the federal deficit, which hit $1.8 trillion in the last fiscal year.
A longtime fiscal hawk, Vought has been an advocate of reducing overall government spending while also rebuilding the U.S. military, the report said.
The White House did not provide a comment. A defense spokesman told the Post that the Pentagon is committed to “utilizing President Trump’s $1.5 trillion defense budget to serve our warfighters and the American people.”
“Our deliberative and responsible budget process ensures the Department is a good steward of taxpayer resources and able to combat 21st century threats,” he added.
Other obstacles to the huge defense boost include deciding where to spend all that money as officials debate how much to invest in existing weapons systems versus emerging high-tech areas like AI, the Post said.
The Defense...
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