Trump proposes massive defense spending increase for 2027 to $1.5 trillion to build ‘military dream’

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday proposed capping military spending at $1.5 trillion in 2027, citing “troubled and dangerous times.”

Trump called for a massive increase in spending days after he ordered a US military operation to arrest Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and take him out of the country to face drug trafficking charges in the United States. US forces continue to build up in the Caribbean Sea.

The military budget for 2026 amounts to $901 billion.

In recent days, Trump also called for the seizure of the Danish territory of Greenland for national security reasons, and indicated that he was open to carrying out military operations in Colombia. Secretary of State Marco Rubio ominously warned that old enemy Cuba is “in trouble.”

“This will allow us to build the ‘Dream Army’ to which we have long been entitled, and most importantly, it will keep us safe and secure, no matter the enemy,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social announcing his proposal. He added that he was comfortable with the increased spending on the military because of the increased revenue his administration has generated through tariffs imposed on friends and enemies around the world since his return to office.

Meanwhile, Trump on Wednesday also threatened to cut off Pentagon purchases from Raytheon, one of the largest US defense contractors, if the company does not end the practice of stock buybacks and invest more profits into building its weapons manufacturing capacity.

Trump has complained repeatedly in recent months that defense companies are woefully behind on vital weapons deliveries, yet continue to pay dividends, buy back stock to investors and offer staggering salaries to top executives.

“Either Raytheon steps up and starts investing in more upfront investments like plant and equipment, or they will no longer do business with the War Department,” Trump said on social media. “Also, if Raytheon wants more business with the U.S. government, under no circumstances will it be allowed to do any additional stock buybacks, where it has spent tens of billions of dollars, so they can work together.”

On Wall Street, defense contractor stocks fell, with Northrop Grumman falling 5.5%, Lockheed Martin falling 4.8%, and RTX, the parent company of Raytheon, falling 2.5%.