Even so, he will face difficulty in getting such a proposal through Congress, where the threat of mandatory spending cuts known as sequestration has acted as a brake on military spending. “This is a symbolic gesture,” said Todd Harrison, the director of defense budget analysis at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “What Trump is proposing is increasing defense spending and paying for it by cutting nondefense spending. What is more, Mr. Trump joined his call for increased military spending with a critique of the military, implying that the nation’s armed forces need more money because they have failed at winning wars. “With a world on fire, America cannot secure peace through strength with just 3 percent more than President Obama’s budget,” Mr. McCain said.

Source: New York Times February 28, 2017 01:48 UTC