FY26 Defense Budget: Topline Taking Shape
Unpacking The Different Paths to Funding
If you are confused about the future defense budget and exactly how much funding (from either Congress or the Executive Branch) is planned for the coming year, you are not alone and you should recognize that these are extraordinary times.
There are three key actions in play right now that help inform how the FY26 budget position could look:
FY26 President’s “Skinny” Budget Submittal: $735.3B
OMB submitted a FY26 Discretionary Budget Request to Congress. This is not a typical submittal as it only includes topline numbers and general priorities. OMB stated they will not submit the full budget until the reconciliation bill is passed.
OMB anticipates $113B from the reconciliation bill to be allocated in FY26. If that happens, then the total available funding for FY26 will be $848.3B.
The Senate and House have agreement on $150B for defense from reconciliation so presumably, the remaining $37B could be allocated at different times (since they have 10 years to spend the funding).
FY26 House Defense Appropriations Act: $831.5B
In a somewhat extraordinary step, the House Appropriations Committee released a more complete breakdown of what they see for the FY26 defense appropriations act.
If the Senate follows suit, Congress could potentially pass defense appropriations without ever seeing a detailed request from the White House.
One Big Beautiful Bill (Reconciliation): $150B
The House and Senate Authorization Committees have provided their proposed breakdown of priorities for this funding.
Technically, reconciliation funds can be spent any time over the next 10 years, however the administration appears poised to frontload the majority in FY26.
We will continue to update this post as events unfold but this is where things stand now. The bottom line is that there is no windfall here for defense. Reconciliation will be a help for the FY26 budget (White House sees it as a +$113B) but for all intents and purposes, defense is going to be flat next year as compared to prior years and inflation or supply chain issues (see China and rare earths) could eat into that further.
FY26 President’s “Skinny” Budget
The Budget delivers on the President’s promise to achieve peace through strength by providing the resources to rebuild America’s military, re-establish deterrence, and revive the warrior ethos of America’s Armed Forces. In combination with $113 billion in mandatory funding, the Budget increases Defense spending by 13%, and prioritizes investments to: strengthen the safety, security, and sovereignty of the homeland; deter Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific; and revitalize the U.S. defense industrial base. Specifically, the Budget:
ends wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars on woke climate and DEI programs and redirects resources to support the warfighter;
makes a down-payment on the development and deployment of a Golden Dome for America, a next-generation missile defense shield that would protect the U.S. from missile threats coming from any adversary;
expands U.S. shipbuilding capacity by investing in America’s shipyards and industrial base, increasing wages, and modernizing infrastructure;
supports U.S. space dominance to strengthen U.S. national security and strategic advantage;
funds the F-47 Next Generation Air Dominance platform, the world’s first crewed sixth generation fighter aircraft and the most advanced, capable, and lethal aircraft ever built;
protects America’s homeland from threats at the border and the ongoing invasion of the U.S.;
modernizes the Nation’s nuclear deterrent; and
recognizes America’s servicemembers’ sacrifice to the Nation with a 3.8% pay raise.
On May 30th, OMB Issued a Technical Supplement to the 2026 Budget.
Based on the preliminary information released, here’s how the defense investment budget shapes out, including how it changes from the enacted numbers from the FY25 Continuing Resolution.