Trump Pushes $1.5T Defense Budget Amid Domestic Cuts and Fiscal Gridlock

The administration's $1.5T defense budget push is dead. House passed $1.07T base plus $60B supplemental; $350B reconciliation piece gone. NDAA passed with 5-7% pay raise and Department of War renaming. Trump urges Senate to pass $95B budget bill before recess, but gridlock persists. Iran war costs under scrutiny; Hegseth defends. CBO FY2026 deficit $1.4T; Pentagon faces $67B shortfall. House passed FY2027 budget resolution enabling reconciliation; third reconciliation bill with $95B new spending, no offsets. Senate inaction and CR to Dec 4 confirm gridlock. Both parties have abandoned deficit reduction. Pentagon reform scandal: Deputy Secretary Feinberg's Cerberus ties and $40B Ligado lawsuit raise ethics concerns. A former CBO director offered a nuanced fiscal policy framework. New analysis quantifies economic cost of Israel-Iran War. Washington's National Guard deployment set to cost $1.4B through 2029, raising oversight questions—confirmed by Pentagon comptroller nominee. The Senate passed its own CR with targeted funding boosts for SNAP, FEMA, shipbuilding, and housing, plus Democratic sweeteners, and left for August recess. New CBO outlook reinforces rising costs and imbalances.