As Congress launches into debate over President Donald Trump’s budget reconciliation package – what he has dubbed the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” – much of the conversation has centered on government spending cuts and tax priorities. While those are indeed important aspects of this legislation, the bill also contains crucial measures to fully fund the military and invest in our national security.
That’s why, as a retired Air Force colonel and staunch advocate for military readiness as a deterrent to conflict, I’m throwing my full support behind the Big Beautiful Bill. President Trump’s approach is not just a numbers game – it’s a strategic vision that prioritizes America’s security, restores military readiness, and does so without breaking the bank.
The Big Beautiful Bill includes $150 billion in additional mandatory military spending, reflecting this president’s commitment to rebuilding a military that has been stretched thin by decades of overuse and underfunding. This money is a critical supplement to the $892.6 billion President Trump has already requested in his 2026 defense budget proposal.
Taken together, Trump is calling for total defense spending for fiscal year 2026 of approximately $1.04 trillion, a slight but targeted increase from prior years.
Importantly, however, the breakdown of how the Big Beautiful Bill allocates this extra defense funding shows that President Trump and Republicans aren’t just throwing money at the Pentagon and hoping for the best. Instead, they are addressing glaring gaps in our defense infrastructure and investing in military technologies of the future.
The $150 billion in the Big Beautiful Bill specifically includes $25 billion for President Trump’s proposed “Golden Dome for America,” a revolutionary missile defense shield modeled after Israel’s Iron Dome; $21 billion to restock the nation’s depleted ammunition arsenal; and $9 billion for service member quality-of-life issues like housing and healthcare.
The reconciliation package also includes $34 billion to build more ships and bolster America’s naval might. As I’ve written previously, the decline of U.S. maritime power is a serious crisis that needs addressing. Communist China has been building ships at a breakneck pace in recent years. This money will help ensure that the United States remains the dominant global power at sea.
The Big Beautiful Bill also ties defense spending to broader fiscal responsibility by including measures to claw back unspent funds from bloated domestic programs and redirect them to the military. This is a masterstroke – balancing a strong defense with the kind of fiscal discipline conservatives like me have long demanded.
Critics might cry about “cuts,” but reallocating wasted or misspent resources to protect our homeland isn’t a cut; it’s common sense. National security does not exist in a vacuum. We have a responsibility to find a way to bolster our military might without piling on debt.
Another crucial element on this front is fixing longstanding procurement issues, another priority addressed in the Big Beautiful Bill. Every taxpayer dollar spent on the military should go toward ensuring our warfighters have the best, most cutting-edge equipment in the world – and that they and their families are taken care of. As someone who’s seen firsthand how red tape can hamstring readiness, I applaud this focus on getting the most bang for our buck.
The corporate media has predictably nitpicked President Trump’s defense agenda. A recent Politico piece is indicative of the criticism, with the so-called “experts” questioning whether Trump can meet his ambitious spending goal of three percent of GDP on defense while keeping overall spending in check. I get the concern, but the doubters are missing the point. Trump’s plan isn’t about endless blank checks; it’s about leveraging America’s economic strength to fund what matters most.
Moreover, by slashing wasteful programs and boosting economic growth through deregulation and energy independence, Trump creates the fiscal space for a robust defense budget. The Congressional Budget Office projects GDP growth of 2.8 percent in 2026 under current policies. Trump’s pro-growth agenda could push that even higher, making three percent of GDP more than achievable.
This increased investment couldn’t come soon enough. China’s military buildup, Russia’s aggression, and Iran’s proxies aren’t slowing down. Our adversaries don’t care about Washington’s budget squabbles – they’re watching our resolve.
Trump’s plan sends a clear message: America is back, and we’re not messing around. The 2026 budget’s focus on naval expansion, including new Virginia-class submarines and unmanned systems, directly counters China’s growing Pacific presence. Investments in cyber warfare and space capabilities show Trump understands the 21st-century battlefield. Trump is committed to dominating the domains where future wars will be won or lost.
The naysayers – mostly establishment types and left-leaning pundits – will argue Trump’s plan is “too aggressive” or “unrealistic.” But they’re the same folks who cheered endless wars in the Middle East while letting our military atrophy.
Trump’s approach of peace through strength is different. A well-funded, modernized military deters conflict, saving precious American blood and treasure in the long run.
As a veteran, I’ve seen what happens when we shortchange defense – overworked troops, outdated equipment, and a weakened posture that emboldens our enemies. Trump’s 2026 defense budget, paired with the reconciliation bill’s fiscal guardrails, is a blueprint for reversing that decline. It’s bold, it’s necessary, and it’s rooted in a clear-eyed view of the world.
President Trump isn’t just funding a military. He’s funding America’s future as the world’s unrivaled superpower. Count me in.
Rob Maness is a retired Air Force Colonel, a former wing and squadron commander, veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, a survivor of the 9/11 Pentagon Attack, Graduate of the U.S. Navy War College and Harvard Kennedy School, a former U.S. Senate Candidate, Chairman of GatorPAC, CEO and Owner of Iron Liberty Group LLC, and Host of the Rob Maness Show on WorldViewTube.
Trump is performing his duty. Security of the country, it’s borders and citizens within those borders are responsibility of the government. Not “free” condoms, tampons, school lunches and abortions.
I think President Trump has good intentions and his policies will help in the short term. America is in decline because too many of our people are in moral decline and no one individual is going to change that. Our people as a whole must turn back to God if America is to be saved.
Peace Through Strength, this is why we simply must keep our military strong! Also this Big Beautiful Bill is unlike the usual DC law, where there are all kinds of gifts and graft, this is a bill that will cover we the taxpayers. Lowering our tax bill, I believe will be covered by the Tariffs that President Trump is imposing on these countries, that heretofore, were tariffing us, before our great leader, put a stop to it. This revenue will cover some of the tax savings, which also will strengthen our economy.
All the critics of this bill have their own agenda, which has nothing to do with helping those of us who have long been over looked.Go DOGE, cut the waste.
More than ever we need to help President Trump help secure our country from aggression both foreign and domestic.
I am 100% with President Trump and his Big Beautiful Bill. We need a strong healthy military and it really does reflect the strength of America by other countries. Biden had made a big mess of our military and it needs fixed and fast. President Trump is doing only what is best for America, first.
This B. B. B. NEEDS some changes like… NO TAX ON SOCIAL SECURITY, Retirement funds, and more TAX CUTS along with the FEW mentioned in the article.
OUR Tax money is MAKING EVERYONE RICH Except for those who of us who PAY TAXES EVERY YR!! We want to Keep the Money WE SWEAT FOR!!
President Trump understands what part of his job as President pertains too, securing our borders a super military with real men and women!
The only thing the sorry Democrats did was to destroy our country and steal the taxpayers money and give to invaders of America!
Bravo to the writer of this article!
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) disagrees with the author on the “increase” in defense spending. He said the White House “is requesting a budget of $892.6 billion, which is a cut in real terms.” This is because it includes money from the FY2025 reconciliation bill, a budget gimmick. As a retired Navy guy, I hope the $34 billion for more ships doesn’t include ones like the failed Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). The GAO said the program my cost taxpayers $100 billion or more for 30 limited-survivability, single-mission ships.
it’s finished.what we are seeing now are the “highly challenged seats members in both houses and parties” building/quantifying voting base records that are demanding to pass so they can respond to accusations of wrong voting for passage/support of one bid beautiful bill
This bill needs to be broken down into several parts and the main two are Defense spending and tax cuts spending so that the average person and Congress can read this as transparency that everyone can see and comment on.
What I hear from trustworthy sources is that the RHINO’s have made changes to what Trump promised. They don’t want the tax cuts and want to raise taxes on rich (which is stupid). They have changed what Trump wanted so that this only looks good on the outside but inside it will cause us in debt further. So, appease the voters for now but clean out their wallets. They don’t want to stop the funding that is going to NGOs. It’s a mess. The House Representatives are a mess. I am on the side of those who would not vote to pass this bill until they clean up all this stuff. They work 3 day and are off 7, and that is not exact, but they are working on getting this cleaned up. They need to work 5-7 days a week into the night if need be, to get this done. They take breaks over and over again, so they are not in session and the democrats continue to hinder and impede progress. Representatives need to get a backbone and work for our country. This is imperative to be done, or USA will be no more! As in Rome – bread and circuses! That’s how Rome fell and am sure that is how the USA will fall. People need to email representatives and tell them to work on this until they get it finished and stop taking breaks every time the wind changes directions but stay in Washington DC until it is done!
Sir, this us a great article. Thank you for your service.
Thank you, President Trump for seeing what the future may need from our military and protecting our country, not passing out “free” condoms, tampons, abortions, and leaving millions of dollars of military equipment where the enemy can use it, and build their own weapons using our technology.
The republicans in congress need to support the Big Beautiful Bill intact completely! No guts no glory.
Apparently Republicans do not care seniors. They are breaking their promise to eliminate taxes on social security. As a life long voter for conservative causes, I have decided to sit out the 2026 and 2028 elections unless the Republicans live up to their promise.
Peace through strength is much better than false platitudes or apology tours.
This is a great bill That needs to be passed ASAP.
All that huge increase in military spending is in direct contradiction to what President Trump promised when he insisted he would cut military spending by “at least 40%”. But, who cares about being a bankrupted laughed at country where even Japan is dumping your debt in the form of your untrustworthy Treasuries?
You can increase the defense budget to WAY over a trillion per year cause we just have to pay the overhead on those 800 military establishments we blight the planet with and nobody is mentioning it but a massive portion of the entire defense budget is going to go into completely rebuilding all of our old cold war era missile silos so our obsolete ICBMs can stay nice and comfy.
Meanwhile another lie was told and it had to do with “ending income tax payments on Social Security”.
We have a new orange colored, somewhat more understandable Joe Biden it sure seems.