(Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call)President Trump is expected to ask for $716 billion in defense spending when he unveils his 2019 budget next month, a major increase that signals a shift away from concerns about rising deficits, U.S. officials said. The proposed budget would be a 13 percent increase over 2017, when the United States spent about $634 billion on defense. The proposed increase is “a huge deal,” said Mark Cancian, a defense analyst with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Many lawmakers have pushed for the military budget to increase far beyond what Trump proposed last year. Trump sought $668 billion in spending for national defense in 2018, but Congress passed a bipartisan defense authorization bill late last year that would direct roughly $700 billion to military spending.

Source: Washington Post January 26, 2018 18:22 UTC