Unstable Equilibrium: Analysis of the 2026 Defense Budget Request : Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments , September 25 , 2025
Unstable Equilibrium: Analysis of the 2026 Defense Budget Request : Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments , September 25 , 2025
From the report: “The fiscal year (FY) 2026 Department of Defense (DoD) budget request, supplemented by reconciliation, would provide the biggest single-year spending increase in nearly a quarter century. This expansion would reverse the previous year’s contraction, returning total Pentagon spending (including supplementals) to the 2024 level in real terms. Overall, the 2026 budget would restore the upward drift in defense spending that has persisted for a decade as U.S.–China military competition has intensified.
By returning to the upward drift, the 2026 budget may suggest the Trump administration and Congress have settled into a well-grooved course for defense spending. Nothing could be further from the truth. The 2026 budget is an unstable equilibrium among contending ideas and factions within President Donald Trump’s governing coalition. Unresolved tensions exist over defense strategy, DoD’s topline, and investment priorities, as detailed in this report.”
Authors - Sharp, TravisSubjects
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