The proposed $603 billion military budget for 2018 will be hard for the administration to defend. Since details of the proposal started leaking in recent days, Democrats already have dismissed the plan as non-serious. The proposed defense growth — an increase of $18.4 billion over the Obama plan — is being funded by cuts to nondefense agencies. The $603 billion top line is also unacceptable to congressional defense hawks who argue that it is insufficient to help the military plug funding holes left by the 2011 budget control act.
Trump’s Military Budget Proposal Gives Defense Hawks the Political Upper Hand
