Studies
Plan B for Defense Hawks: Analysis of the 2027 Defense Budget Request
The 2027 Defense Department budget request of $1.5 trillion breaks with the norm in size, composition, and strategic orientation. However, getting from desires to dollars has proven difficult with inconsistent political support. The budget ultimately passed by Congress will likely fall short of the Trump Administration’s ambitions. The question now is, what would be a good outcome for the 2027 budget?
In Plan B for Defense Hawks: Analysis of the 2027 Defense Budget Request, CSBA Senior Fellow and Director of Defense Budget Studies Travis Sharp proposes four budget options designed to appeal to lawmakers from both political parties who are committed to resourcing defense. The options illustrate different approaches to mandatory spending, budget baselines, and congressional action to date, each of which could be a good outcome depending on one’s priorities.
Of the options posed, Sharp recommends option one ($1.11 trillion) or option three ($1.05 trillion) because they would intensify U.S. defense efforts but forsake reconciliation, thereby helping to protect the bipartisan support for upward-drifting defense budgets that has held for a decade as U.S.-China military competition has intensified. While the 2027 request has altered perceptions of what success looks like for defense hawks, Sharp’s analysis provides potential paths forward.
This report is the 41st in a series of annual budget analyses published since 1983 by CSBA and its predecessor organization.
