{"id":5485,"date":"2026-10-04T05:21:46","date_gmt":"2026-10-04T05:21:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/?p=5485"},"modified":"2026-10-04T05:21:46","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T05:21:46","slug":"the-pentagons-secret-budget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/?p=5485","title":{"rendered":"The Pentagon\u2019s Secret Budget"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"wp-block-intercept-editors-note\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-intercept-editors-note__content\">\n<p><span class=\"has-underline\">No one can tell<\/span> you exactly what\u2019s in the bloated Pentagon budget and what it costs. After all, the Defense Department has never passed an audit. Still, we know it\u2019s larded up with terrible, lethal, wasteful expenditures. There are $2.2 million Tomahawk missiles \u2014 the type that <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2026\/03\/11\/iran-school-missile-investigation\/\">killed<\/a> more than 150 Iranian civilians, most of them school children. And the Zumwalt class of naval destroyers that were billed as a $1.5 billion per ship bargain, but now cost taxpayers $10 billion each. And there are the untold sums spent by self-styled War Secretary Pete Hegseth\u2019s department\u00a0to line the pockets of online influencers. Yep, that\u2019s a thing. American taxpayers are on the hook for all of it.<br \/>\u00a0<br \/>The Pentagon secretly hired conservative military veterans with large online followings to work in undefined roles earlier this year. When called on his participation in the program, for example, Kurt Schlichter, a retired Army colonel with more than 620,000 followers on X, admitted he \u201ccame back as a civilian for a short time to help improve our work colleges.\u201d\u00a0This may mean rooting out supposed woke-ness at the military war colleges, but when TomDispatch asked the Pentagon for clarification, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Joel Valdez failed to comment.<br \/>\u00a0<br \/>What we do know, thanks to recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/a-pentagon-influencer-called-liberal-women-a-pestilence-who-will-end-western-civilization\/\">reporting by Wired<\/a>, is that Schlichter is a conservative gadfly with extremist views. He has, for instance, suggested that people who don\u2019t have children, don\u2019t own property, and haven\u2019t served in the military shouldn\u2019t be allowed to vote. \u201cPenalize barren, non-familial lifestyles through taxes and disqualification from political participation,\u201d wrote Schlichter. \u201cEstablish property and military service qualifications for voting.\u201d He has also lauded murderous dictators from Chile\u2019s Augusto Pinochet to Spain\u2019s Francisco Franco; referred to immigrants as \u201cperverted Third World peasants\u201d; and branded \u201cliberal women\u201d as \u201cself-righteous crones\u201d who \u201care a pestilence, a plague upon Western society \u2026 whose antics, if unchecked, will inevitably lead to the fall of civilization.\u201d<br \/>\u00a0<br \/>Just how many vicious vitriol-spewing vets have been put on the Pentagon payroll and at what cost remains unknown.\u00a0But there\u2019s plenty of taxpayer-funded largess to pay them \u2014 with lots more on the way. Today, TomDispatch regular David Vine exposes a shadow budget loaded with Pentagon excess, waste, and bloat that has grown to epic proportions and may leave Americans on the hook for $1 trillion in secret spending next year if Trump has his way.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u2014 Nick Turse, editor of TomDispatch<\/em><\/p>\n<p><!-- BLOCK(tipline)[0](%7B%22componentName%22%3A%22TIPLINE%22%2C%22entityType%22%3A%22SHORTCODE%22%2C%22optional%22%3Atrue%7D)(%7B%7D) --><!-- CONTENT(tipline)[0] --><\/p>\n<p class=\"tipline-shortcode\">If you haven\u2019t yet,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/dispatch\/\">sign up to receive TomDispatch in your inbox here.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- END-CONTENT(tipline)[0] --><!-- END-BLOCK(tipline)[0] -->\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<h2 id=\"h-our-government-s-real-priorities\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Our Government\u2019s Real Priorities<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">News reports that next year\u2019s U.S. military budget will top out at $1.5 trillion if President Donald Trump gets his way are misleading at best. The true total, if Trump\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/04\/03\/us\/politics\/white-house-defense-budget.html\">proposal<\/a> passes, could be at least $1 trillion higher.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Long before Trump took office, U.S. taxpayers have spent far more on the Pentagon \u2014 and its wars \u2014 than most know. For decades, Congress, the White House, and the Pentagon have hidden the military\u2019s true cost through little-known bureaucratic practices and budgeting tricks. Journalists, academics, and think tank experts have, with rare exceptions, perpetuated the problem by repeating \u201cofficial\u201d numbers that don\u2019t come close to telling the full story.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Data shows that the budget was already between $1.5 trillion and $1.8 trillion in the last full fiscal year, 2025, as detailed by a recent Project on Government Oversight, or POGO, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pogo.org\/reports\/the-true-total-u-s-military-budget\">report<\/a> I co-authored. Trump\u2019s requests would add another $781 billion, bringing the potential total to at least $2.581 trillion in 2027.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The troubling revelation that the government is misleading the public and effectively hiding hundreds of billions in military spending reflects the out-of-control nature of the Pentagon budget. It\u2019s also the only sector of government spending that seems largely insulated from public scrutiny: Imagine the outrage if news broke that the government was hiding hundreds of billions in spending for public housing, Medicaid, or hunger prevention programs.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-right\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>If Congress passes Trump\u2019s full budget proposal, military spending will eat up around 75 percent of the discretionary budget Congress controls.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">People have a right to know how much tax money goes to military spending. This is critical to debating the proper size of the military budget both on its own and compared to other spending priorities, particularly any program related to education or the social safety net.\u00a0Understanding the military\u2019s true cost means understanding where and how the government has been hiding the money.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-spending-hidden-in-other-budgets\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Spending Hidden in Other Budgets<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s difficult to untangle how much the country actually spends on the military in part because Congress pays for the armed forces and wars from many budgets rather than one. Beyond the agency controlling the military branches that Trump calls the \u201cDepartment of War\u201d (the official name is still the Department of Defense), hundreds of billions of dollars are effectively hidden in the budgets of at least 17 other government agencies and entities. In total, each of these additional sums are larger than what Congress appropriates for every non-military agency.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For years, <a href=\"https:\/\/tomdispatch.com\/hellman-and-kramer-how-much-does-washington-spend-on-defense\/\">TomDispatch<\/a> and a small but mostly ignored group of <a href=\"https:\/\/monthlyreview.org\/articles\/the-u-s-imperial-triangle-and-military-spending\/\">budget experts<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/tomdispatch.com\/hellman-and-kramer-how-much-does-washington-spend-on-defense\/\"\/>have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pogo.org\/investigates\/americas-1-trillion-national-security-budget\"\/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pogo.org\/investigates\/americas-1-trillion-national-security-budget\">warned<\/a> that <a href=\"https:\/\/tomdispatch.com\/william-hartung-the-trillion-dollar-national-security-budget\/\"\/><a href=\"https:\/\/tomdispatch.com\/william-hartung-the-trillion-dollar-national-security-budget\/\">tota<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/monthlyreview.org\/2008\/10\/01\/the-u-s-imperial-triangle-and-military-spending\/\">l<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/monthlyreview.org\/2008\/10\/01\/the-u-s-imperial-triangle-and-military-spending\/\"\/>military <a href=\"https:\/\/tomdispatch.com\/fueling-the-warfare-state\/\"\/><a href=\"https:\/\/tomdispatch.com\/fueling-the-warfare-state\/\">spending<\/a> is <a href=\"https:\/\/responsiblestatecraft.org\/2023\/05\/07\/getting-the-defense-budget-right-a-real-grand-total-over-1-4-trillion\/\"\/>far <a href=\"https:\/\/monthlyreview.org\/articles\/actual-u-s-military-spending-reached-1-53-trillion-in-2022-more-than-twice-acknowledged-level-new-estimates-based-on-u-s-national-accounts\"\/><a href=\"https:\/\/monthlyreview.org\/articles\/actual-u-s-military-spending-reached-1-53-trillion-in-2022-more-than-twice-acknowledged-level-new-estimates-based-on-u-s-national-accounts\">higher<\/a> than <a href=\"https:\/\/responsiblestatecraft.org\/2023\/05\/07\/getting-the-defense-budget-right-a-real-grand-total-over-1-4-trillion\/\">reported<\/a>. Our new POGO <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pogo.org\/reports\/the-true-total-u-s-military-budget\"\/>report consolidates this prior work and five different methodologies for calculating the true military budget. The report shows a consensus that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pogo.org\/reports\/the-true-total-u-s-military-budget\">military spending was at least $1.5 trillion<\/a>, with three of five methods reaching similar estimates of $1.7 trillion to $1.8 trillion.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The newest of the five methodologies provides the easiest way for anyone to see the hidden spending. The methodology uses data from a government website, USAspending.gov, the product of a 2006 law <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usaspending.gov\/about\"\/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usaspending.gov\/about\">requiring<\/a> the government \u201cto give the American public access to information on how their tax dollars are being spent.\u201d The site includes the closest thing to actual spending receipts, making it easier to identify military spending beyond the Department of War\u2019s budget.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Let\u2019s take a look at where the money\u2019s hiding.<\/p>\n<p><!-- END-BLOCK(cta)[0] --><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-hidden-nuclear-weapons-costs-33-8-billion\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Hidden Nuclear Weapons Costs: $33.8 Billion<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The most obvious place where Congress and the executive branch hide military spending is in the Department of Energy\u2019s budget. That\u2019s where taxpayers can find the bill for the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal, which cost around $33.5 billion in 2025.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Department of War controls and deploys these weapons, and their costs should properly be part of its budget, not rolled into the Department of Energy. While the Energy Department plays a role in overseeing the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile, putting nuclear weapons spending in the DOE\u2019s budget is like a city putting the costs of its police department\u2019s bullets in its transportation department budget rather than in the police budget.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another $300 million in nuclear weapons spending hides in the budgets of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board and the Army Corps of Engineers, bringing the total to nearly $34 billion.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-hidden-military-personnel-veterans-costs-393-3-billion\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Hidden Military Personnel (Veterans) Costs: $393.3 Billion<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Taxpayers spend huge sums on the military in the Department of Veterans Affairs and related budgets. The existence of a separate veterans\u2019 agency is a sleight of hand that leads the public to believe this is not <em>military<\/em> spending. It is. The only difference is the appropriation of money to still another agency.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To recruit and maintain armed forces, any government <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2024\/10\/28\/trump-veterans-va-darin-selnick-peter-orourke\/\">needs to pay its troops and offer sufficient long-term benefits<\/a> (such as pensions, medical care in retirement, and survivor benefits) to encourage people to join and stay in a dangerous job that involves the risk of killing and being killed. These forms of long-term compensation are personnel costs, just as much as basic pay, and they should be counted as military spending. If a military fails to spend money to support vets, it\u2019s unlikely to function for long. The Bureau of Pensions for veterans was originally part of the War Department (which was the name until 1947, long before Trump\u2019s rebranding) and its budget until 1849 when Congress <a href=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/history-overview\/\"\/><a href=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/history-overview\/\">transferred<\/a> the bureau to the Department of the Interior.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs adds another $389.8 billion to the USAspending.gov methodology total. Almost $4 billion more in long-term spending on personnel hides in the budgets of the departments of Labor, Justice, and several others. All told, these sums reach a staggering $393.3 billion.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-coast-guard-and-other-homeland-security-costs-16-8-billion\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Coast Guard and Other \u201cHomeland Security\u201d Costs: $16.8 billion<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"h-spending-for-an-entire-branch-of-the-military-the-coast-guard-is-concealed-in-the-budget-of-the-department-of-homeland-security-rather-than-the-department-of-war-while-dhs-controls-the-coast-guard-during-peacetime-and-the-branch-plays-some-non-military-functions-the-guard-is-one-of-the-armed-forces-and-is-controlled-by-the-pentagon-in-wartime\">Spending for an entire branch of the military, the Coast Guard, is concealed in the budget of the Department of Homeland Security rather than the Department of War. While DHS controls the Coast Guard during peacetime and the branch plays some non-military functions, the Coast Guard is one of the armed forces and is controlled by the Pentagon in wartime.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Excluding non-military activities (such as improving boat safety and cleaning up oil spills), Coast Guard spending adds nearly $14 billion to the total military budget. Additional DHS expenses for programs to counter weapons of mass destruction, radiological preparedness, cybersecurity, and other military spending add just under $3 billion, bringing this total to $16.8 billion.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-the-true-cost-of-the-department-of-war-1-3-trillion\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">The True Cost of the Department of War: $1.3 Trillion<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The bulk of military expenditures still appear in the Department of War\u2019s budget, which pays for the armed forces and the rest of the Pentagon\u2019s sprawling bureaucracy, including all the weapons, salaries, some benefits, military construction, fuel, maintenance, operational expenses, and much more. USAspending.gov receipts show the Department of War alone spent $1.273 trillion in 2025. The Pentagon controlled another $480 million in spending that hid in the budgets of the State Department, the <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2026\/05\/19\/ebola-outbreak-trump-who\/\">U.S. Agency for International Development<\/a>, and the Department of Transportation. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Combined with the $444.8 billion tallied previously, total military spending hits $1.718 trillion. That\u2019s more than double the military budget usually reported for 2025: the $850 billion Congress <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/omb\/information-resources\/budget\/\"\/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/omb\/information-resources\/budget\/\">appropriated<\/a> to the Department of War.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-total-military-spending-by-agency-fy2025\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Total Military Spending by Agency (FY2025)<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\">\n<table class=\"has-fixed-layout\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Agency Name<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Net Outlays ($)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Department of Defense<\/td>\n<td>1,273,158,423,924<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Department of Veterans Affairs<\/td>\n<td>389,755,646,022<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Department of Energy<\/td>\n<td>33,538,322,898<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Department of Homeland Security<\/td>\n<td>16,798,958,047<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Department of Labor<\/td>\n<td>3,277,521,935<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Department of State<\/td>\n<td>461,862,025<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Department of Justice<\/td>\n<td>385,060,843<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Army Corps of Engineers<\/td>\n<td>260,017,630<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Armed Forces Retirement Home<\/td>\n<td>137,519,390<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>American Battle Monuments Commission<\/td>\n<td>103,483,062<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims<\/td>\n<td>49,662,873<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board<\/td>\n<td>43,703,554<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Agency for International Development<\/td>\n<td>15,504,280<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Department of Transportation<\/td>\n<td>2,604,283<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>U.S. Chemical Safety Board<\/td>\n<td>958,374<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Social Security Administration<\/td>\n<td>260,504<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Department of Agriculture<\/td>\n<td>0*<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Executive Office of the President<\/td>\n<td>0*<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>TOTAL<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1,717,989,509,643<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>*No FY2025 spending. However, there was a $1 billion budget appropriation to the Executive<\/em> <em>Office of the President for \u201cSubmarine Security Activities, National Security Council.\u201d The government also funded account line items in the Department of Agriculture budget to support the Air Force and Army.<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"newsletter-embed flex-col items-center print:hidden\" id=\"third-party--article-mid\" data-module=\"InlineNewsletter\" data-module-source=\"web_intercept_20241230_Inline_Signup_Replacement\">\n<div class=\"-mx-5 sm:-mx-10 p-5 sm:px-10 xl:-ml-5 lg:mr-0 xl:px-5 bg-accentLight hidden\" data-name=\"subscribed\">\n<h2 class=\"font-sans font-light uppercase text-[30px] leading-8 text-white tracking-[0.01em] mb-0\">\n      We\u2019re independent of corporate interests \u2014 and powered by members. Join us.    <\/h2>\n<p>    <a href=\"https:\/\/join.theintercept.com\/donate\/now\/?referrer_post_id=524506&amp;referrer_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheintercept.com%2F2026%2F10%2F01%2Ftrump-military-true-cost-budget-pentagon-trillions%2F&amp;source=web_intercept_20241230_Inline_Signup_Replacement\" class=\"border border-white !text-white font-mono uppercase p-5 inline-flex items-center gap-3 hover:bg-white hover:!text-accentLight focus:bg-white focus:!text-accentLight\" data-name=\"donateCTA\" data-action=\"handleDonate\"><br \/>\n      Become a member      <span class=\"font-icons icon-TI_Arrow_02_Right\"\/><br \/>\n    <\/a>\n  <\/div>\n<div class=\"group default w-full px-5 hidden\" data-name=\"unsubscribed\">\n<div class=\"px-5 border-[10px] border-accentLight\">\n<div class=\"bg-white -my-2.5 relative block px-4 md:px-5\">\n<h2 class=\"font-sans font-body text-[30px] font-bold tracking-[0.01em] leading-8 mb-0 xl:text-[37px] xl:leading-[39px]\">\n          <span class=\"group-[.subscribed]:hidden\"><br \/>\n            Join Our Newsletter          <\/span><br \/>\n          <span class=\"group-[.default]:hidden\"><br \/>\n            Thank You For Joining!          <\/span><br \/>\n        <\/h2>\n<p class=\"text-[27px] mb-3.5 font-bold text-accentLight tracking-[0.01em] leading-[29px] font-sans xl:text-[37px] xl:leading-[39px]\">\n          <span class=\"group-[.subscribed]:hidden\"><br \/>\n            Original reporting. Fearless journalism. Delivered to you.          <\/span><br \/>\n          <span class=\"group-[.default]:hidden\"><br \/>\n            Will you take the next step to support our independent journalism by becoming a member of The Intercept?          <\/span>\n        <\/p>\n<p>        <a href=\"https:\/\/join.theintercept.com\/donate\/now\/?referrer_post_id=524506&amp;referrer_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheintercept.com%2F2026%2F10%2F01%2Ftrump-military-true-cost-budget-pentagon-trillions%2F&amp;source=web_intercept_20241230_Inline_Signup_Replacement\" class=\"group-[.default]:hidden border border-accentLight text-accentLight font-sans px-5 py-3.5 inline-flex items-center gap-3 text-[20px] font-bold\" data-action=\"handleDonate\"><br \/>\n          Become a member          <span class=\"font-icons icon-TI_Arrow_02_Right\"\/><br \/>\n        <\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"font-sans text-accentLight text-[10px] leading-[13px] text-balance [&amp;_a]:text-accentLight [&amp;_a]:font-bold [&amp;_a:hover]:underline group-[.subscribed]:hidden\">\n<p>By signing up, I agree to receive emails from The Intercept and to the <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/privacy-policy\/\">Privacy Policy<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/terms-use\/\">Terms of Use<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- END-BLOCK(newsletter)[0] --><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-still-other-costs\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Still Other Costs<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The $1.7 trillion estimate for last year is conservative and still may be too low. While the War Department budget contains classified funding for the CIA, National Security Agency, and other intelligence agencies, the government <a href=\"https:\/\/us.macmillan.com\/books\/9781627791694\/basenation\"\/><a href=\"https:\/\/us.macmillan.com\/books\/9781627791694\/basenation\">may<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/us.macmillan.com\/books\/9781627791694\/basenation\"\/><a href=\"https:\/\/us.macmillan.com\/books\/9781627791694\/basenation\">hide<\/a> more intelligence spending elsewhere. NASA space research involves considerable military work, which could add another $10.5 billion, according to USAspending.gov data. Some would also count $1.9 billion in FBI salaries and expenses found in the Department of Justice budget.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-ft-photo is-style-default alignright\">\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Other experts consider much larger expenditures in the DHS <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/omb\/information-resources\/budget\">budget<\/a> to be military spending, given that department\u2019s role in protecting the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2021\/09\/10\/immigration-enforcement-homeland-security-911\/\">homeland<\/a>\u201d and the increasingly <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2026\/02\/06\/spencer-ackerman-9-11-terrorists-ice\/\">militarized nature<\/a> of Immigration and Customs Enforcement as well as <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2025\/07\/23\/cbp-border-patrol-ai-surveillance\/\">Border Patrol<\/a>. This would add at least $216.9 billion after excluding DHS\u2019s Federal Emergency Management Agency spending. Alternate methodologies also include $211.9 billion in <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2026\/09\/11\/bin-laden-september-11-trump-america\/\">interest payments on the more than $40 trillion in national debt<\/a> stemming from past military spending and wars. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can add and subtract forms of spending that you think belong or don\u2019t belong in the true total, thanks to the transparency of the POGO report\u2019s methodologies. In total, these excluded sums could add another $441.2 billion to the USAspending.gov method\u2019s prior total of $1.718 trillion for 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-growing-opposition-to-unchecked-pentagon-spending\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Growing Opposition to Unchecked Pentagon Spending<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">POGO report\u2019s conservative estimates of the FY2025 budget being $1.5 trillion to $1.8 trillion reveal that the true military budget for 2027 could hit $2.6 trillion if Congress gives Trump what he wants. This includes requested increases totaling $781 billion for just the Department of War ($500 billion), the <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2026\/05\/12\/hegseth-pentagn-budget-defense-iran-war-cost\/\">Iran war<\/a> ($70 billion), veterans ($144.9 billion), nuclear weapons ($53.9 billion), and the Coast Guard ($12.5 billion), let alone other smaller forms of hidden Pentagon spending.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When mind-numbing numbers like these reach the trillions, it can be tempting to think, <em>What does it matter if it\u2019s $1 trillion or $1.5 trillion or $2.6 trillion?<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It helps me to remember that every single dollar spent on the Pentagon is a dollar not spent on our children, on healthcare, on affordable housing, on efforts to slow catastrophic climate change, and much more. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If Congress passes Trump\u2019s full budget proposal, military spending will eat up around 75 percent of the discretionary budget Congress controls. Every dollar spent on the Pentagon is also a dollar more for Trump to continue waging his illegal, <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2026\/08\/31\/iran-war-environment-toxic-chemical-exposure\/\">disastrous war on Iran<\/a> and the funds to make good on his threats to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/06\/07\/g-s1-126826\/trump-iran-wars-campaign-message\"\/>attack <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/donald-trump-us-take-over-cuba-11905781\">Cuba<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/01\/04\/us\/politics\/trump-cuba-greenland-colombia.html\"\/><a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2026\/01\/14\/trump-greenland-denmark-nato\/\">other <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/01\/04\/us\/politics\/trump-cuba-greenland-colombia.html\"\/>countries.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"promote-banner\">\n    <a class=\"promote-banner__link\" href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/tomdispatch\"><br \/><span class=\"promote-banner__image\"><br \/>        <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"promote-banner__text\">\n<p class=\"promote-banner__eyebrow\">\n            Read Our Complete Coverage          <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><br \/><\/aside>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Advocates for increased military spending will likely insist that more money is always needed, no matter today\u2019s true total. That these <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2021\/08\/19\/afghanistan-taliban-defense-industry-media\/\">Pentagon boosters<\/a>\u00a0have cited incorrect figures and helped <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2021\/10\/27\/pentagon-budget-book-spoils-war-andrew-cockburn\/\">mislead the public for decades<\/a> raises serious questions about their credibility and the basis for their seemingly endless demands for more money.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thankfully, there\u2019s growing <a href=\"https:\/\/peopleoverpentagon.org\/\"\/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dismantlethemic.org\/cut-budget\">resistance<\/a> to Trump\u2019s proposals. Nearly 6 in 10 people nationwide believe even the official $1.5 trillion request is \u201ctoo high,\u201d according to a recent <a href=\"https:\/\/eu.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2026\/05\/14\/pentagon-trillion-dollar-budget-americans-poll\/90064848007\/\"\/><a href=\"https:\/\/eu.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2026\/05\/14\/pentagon-trillion-dollar-budget-americans-poll\/90064848007\/\">poll<\/a> conducted by ReThink Media and the Costs of War Project at Brown University, a nonpartisan research group (where I\u2019m a contributor). And <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/senate\/5815318-democrats-white-house-budget-request\/\">Democrats<\/a> appear to be <a href=\"https:\/\/truthout.org\/articles\/democrats-face-mounting-pressure-to-oppose-any-new-funds-for-war-on-iran\/\">listening<\/a>: They\u2019ve voted against Trump\u2019s budget in unprecedented numbers as it winds through Congress. Some Republicans have also expressed <a href=\"https:\/\/finance.yahoo.com\/economy\/policy\/articles\/trump-1-5-trillion-pentagon-194830236.html\"\/><a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2026\/07\/22\/ndaa-defense-bill-pentagon-israel-massie\/\">concerns<\/a> about supporting Trump\u2019s proposal given fears about the rising <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=AIop05UcK74\">national debt<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are <a href=\"https:\/\/tomdispatch.com\/reining-in-the-pentagon-2\/\"\/><a href=\"https:\/\/tomdispatch.com\/reining-in-the-pentagon-2\/\">growin<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/jacobin.com\/2026\/03\/military-budget-cuts-iran-spending\">g<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/jacobin.com\/2026\/03\/military-budget-cuts-iran-spending\"\/>calls <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2026\/02\/06\/us-can-spend-billions-less-on-defense-says-anduril-industries-founder.html\"\/>to <a href=\"https:\/\/bracingviews.com\/2026\/04\/27\/how-much-is-enough-for-national-defense\/\"\/><a href=\"https:\/\/bracingviews.com\/2026\/04\/27\/how-much-is-enough-for-national-defense\/\">cut<\/a> the Pentagon <a href=\"https:\/\/jacobin.com\/2026\/03\/military-budget-cuts-iran-spending\">budget<\/a> by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/opinion\/congress-rescind-money-iran-war\"\/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/opinion\/congress-rescind-money-iran-war\">hundreds<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/opinion\/congress-rescind-money-iran-war\"\/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/opinion\/congress-rescind-money-iran-war\">of<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/opinion\/congress-rescind-money-iran-war\"\/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/opinion\/congress-rescind-money-iran-war\">billions<\/a> of <a href=\"https:\/\/pocan.house.gov\/media-center\/press-releases\/defense-spending-reduction-caucus-slams-trumps-15-trillion-war-budget\"\/><a href=\"https:\/\/pocan.house.gov\/media-center\/press-releases\/defense-spending-reduction-caucus-slams-trumps-15-trillion-war-budget\">dollars<\/a> without touching salaries and benefits for troops and veterans. This would still leave the country with the world\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stephensemler.com\/p\/us-accounts-for-nearly-40-of-global\"\/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.stephensemler.com\/p\/us-accounts-for-nearly-40-of-global\">largest<\/a> military budget by far and allow Congress to reallocate the savings to programs that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fcnl.org\/updates\/2026-04\/faith-communities-urge-congress-reject-15-trillion-pentagon-budget\">improve<\/a> the lives of everyday Americans.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The public needs a full, accurate accounting of the military. Congress could provide an annual True Total Military Budget that tallies all of the Pentagon\u2019s spending in one place and stop hiding funding in other agencies\u2019 budgets. Until this happens, journalists and analysts can help by explaining the full scale of spending and no longer repeating incomplete totals.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As Trump asks for the highest military budget in the history of the world and people continue to suffer the effects of his war with Iran \u2014 which has killed and injured thousands, increased the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/business\/economy\/us-economy-iran-war-five-charts-rcna598412\">price of gas<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/nation\/gas-groceries-and-back-to-school-items-are-where-shoppers-might-see-higher-oil-prices-surface\">groceries<\/a>, and risks even greater catastrophic harm globally \u2014 it\u2019s time to have an informed debate about how much the country really needs to spend on its military.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2026\/10\/01\/trump-military-true-cost-budget-pentagon-trillions\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>No one can tell you exactly what\u2019s in the bloated Pentagon budget and what it costs. After all, the Defense Department has never passed an audit. Still, we know it\u2019s larded up with terrible, lethal, wasteful expenditures. There are $2.2 million Tomahawk missiles \u2014 the type that killed more than 150 Iranian civilians, most of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5486,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5485","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-usa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5485","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5485"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5485\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5486"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}