The $1 trillion defense bill is the House Fiscal Year 2027 Defense Appropriations Act, which cleared the House Appropriations Committee on June 24, 2026, on a 34-27 party-line vote and would provide roughly $1.07 trillion in discretionary funding for the newly renamed Department of War. That figure is $234 billion above the FY2026 enacted level and, if signed into law, would be the largest single defense appropriations measure in American history.1House Appropriations Committee Democrats. Republicans Unveil $1 Trillion Defense Funding Bill, Largest in History2The Hill. House Appropriations Committee Advances $1.1 Trillion Defense Spending Bill It is also one piece of a wider Trump administration push to reach $1.5 trillion in total defense investment for the coming fiscal year.
Where the Bill Stands
The House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee approved the measure on June 11, 2026, under Chairman Ken Calvert (R-Calif.).3House Appropriations Committee. Defense Subcommittee Advances FY27 Appropriations Bill The full committee advanced it on June 24 without any Democratic support. As of late June 2026, it is headed to the full House chamber but has not received a floor vote.4Federal News Network. House 2027 Defense Spending Bill Heads to the Full Chamber
Running alongside the appropriations bill is the FY2027 National Defense Authorization Act, the annual policy measure introduced by the House Armed Services Committee in late May, which authorizes $1.14 trillion in military spending.5The Washington Post. House Rolls Out $1.14 Trillion Defense Bill The Senate has its own version, and the two chambers sit close to a top-line figure of about $1.15 trillion, though they still differ on Ukraine funding and Iran war provisions.6Federal News Network. Congress Is at a Pivot Point on Reconciliation and the Defense Bill The NDAA sets policy and authorizes spending; the appropriations bill actually provides the money.
What the Money Would Buy
The Trump administration’s overall FY2027 request breaks down into roughly $1.15 trillion in discretionary funding (a 28 percent increase) and $350 billion in mandatory spending routed through reconciliation.7Center for Strategic and International Studies. Unpacking the $1.5 Trillion FY 2027 Defense Budget Topline Inside the discretionary portion, about $1.1 trillion goes to the Department of War itself, nearly $42 billion to Department of Energy atomic energy programs, and $12 billion to other defense-related activities.
The largest and most-discussed line items include:
- Shipbuilding: $65.8 billion for 41 ships, including initial funding for the “Trump-class” guided missile battleship (BBG(X)), next-generation frigates, and Columbia-class and Virginia-class submarines.8The White House. Rebuilding Our Military Fact Sheet
- Golden Dome missile defense: $185 billion for a homeland missile defense system to protect the continental United States, Alaska, and Hawaii against hypersonic, ballistic, and cruise missiles. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the full 20-year cost at approximately $1.2 trillion, with acquisition alone exceeding $1 trillion.9Military Times. Trump’s Golden Dome Missile Shield Estimated to Cost $1.2 Trillion
- Military pay raises: 7 percent for junior enlisted (E-5 and below), 6 percent for mid-grade troops (E-6 to O-3), and 5 percent for senior officers.8The White House. Rebuilding Our Military Fact Sheet
- Munitions replenishment: funding to procure twelve critical munitions and expand production capacity, a priority driven by stockpiles expended during the Iran war that began on February 28, 2026.5The Washington Post. House Rolls Out $1.14 Trillion Defense Bill
- Trump-class battleship: $1 billion in advance procurement for the BBG(X) program, a nuclear-powered surface combatant the Navy intends to begin constructing in FY2028. The lead ship, USS Defiant, carries an estimated cost of $17 billion, with three vessels projected at roughly $43.5 billion.10DefenseScoop. Navy Battleship BBG(X) Cost, Capabilities11U.S. Naval Institute News. Navy Wants to Buy Trump-Class Battleship in FY 2028
The Golden Dome figures are contested. Space Force Gen. Michael Guetlein cited roughly $185 billion, while the CBO’s $1.2 trillion, 20-year estimate attributes about 70 percent of acquisition costs to space-based interceptors.12Federal News Network. CBO Estimates Golden Dome Could Cost $1.2 Trillion Over 20 Years Gen. Guetlein indicated in April 2026 that space-based interceptors could be dropped if costs cannot be brought down. The CBO also cautioned the system “would not be an impenetrable shield.” Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), who requested the analysis, called the program “a massive giveaway to defense contractors.”
Policy Provisions Attached to the Money
The bill carries several policy riders. It blocks federal funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts within the department; prohibits reimbursement of troops for travel costs related to obtaining abortions; and prevents the department from paying for gender-affirming surgeries and hormone therapies for transgender service members.2The Hill. House Appropriations Committee Advances $1.1 Trillion Defense Spending Bill The administration’s broader budget continues over $1.6 billion in reductions tied to eliminating what it calls “woke” programs.8The White House. Rebuilding Our Military Fact Sheet
The bill would also formally rename the Department of Defense as the Department of War, a change the CBO estimates will cost upwards of $125 million. That transition is already partly underway: President Trump signed an executive order on September 5, 2025, establishing “Department of War” and “Secretary of War” as secondary titles, and the department now operates under the war.gov domain.13U.S. Department of War. Trump Renames DoD to Department of War Permanent statutory renaming still requires congressional action.
The bill does not fund the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. During markup, Republicans rejected Democratic amendments to restore $300 million for Ukraine, limit troop withdrawals from Europe, block deployment of the National Guard to Washington, D.C., and require Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to justify the withholding of senior officer promotions. A separate provision would grant Hegseth authority to cut $1 billion from across the department without congressional consultation, based on projected savings from artificial intelligence tools.
The Objections
Ranking Member Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) called the total “unprecedented” and said it forces “deep cuts to other Appropriations bills that fund critical domestic programs.”14House Appropriations Committee Democrats. Ranking Member Betty McCollum Statement on Full Committee Markup of 2027 Defense Funding The measure proposes roughly $13 billion in cuts to domestic programs, including reductions at the Departments of Education and State.
McCollum flagged specific items she opposes: $605 million for National Guard mobilization in Washington, D.C., $216 million for a National Guard Reaction Force, and $1 billion for a battleship that has not yet been designed. Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) noted that despite the $234 billion increase, the bill “does not include the additional costs of Trump’s war of choice in Iran.” Democrats have not put forward an alternative top-line number.
The Bigger $1.5 Trillion Picture
The appropriations bill is one of three tracks. Congressional Republicans are pursuing an additional $350 billion in mandatory defense spending through the budget reconciliation process, which bypasses the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster threshold. Combined with the discretionary bill, that produces the roughly $1.5 trillion total the president has publicly targeted.
This layered approach follows the “One Big Beautiful Bill” (H.R. 1), which Trump signed on July 4, 2025, and which included $156.2 billion in mandatory defense funding for FY2025 across shipbuilding, air and missile defense, munitions, and quality-of-life accounts.15Congressional Research Service. One Big Beautiful Bill Defense Funding The Department of Defense plans to spend that full amount in a single fiscal year rather than over the five years Congress originally contemplated.16Federal News Network. DoD Plans to Spend Entire $152 Billion From Reconciliation Bill in One Year Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) has argued the reconciliation route undermines the appropriations process, and McCollum called it “the wrong way to fund the Department of Defense.”17House Appropriations Committee Democrats. Ranking Member McCollum Statement on Subcommittee Markup of 2027 Defense Funding Bill
On top of both tracks, the White House submitted an $87.6 billion supplemental spending request on June 24, 2026, driven largely by the war in Iran. It includes $67 billion for the Pentagon (with $21 billion for munitions, $17.3 billion for operational costs, and $12.1 billion for classified programs), plus $11.1 billion in farm aid, $1.4 billion for Ebola response in Africa, and smaller amounts for the Energy and State Departments.18CBS News. Iran War Supplemental Funding Request That is far below the $200 billion figure Defense Secretary Hegseth floated in March, which Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, called “considerably higher than I would have guessed.”19The New York Times. Pentagon $200 Billion Iran War Funding Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) has noted the Pentagon still holds over $100 billion in unspent funds from the One Big Beautiful Bill.20CNBC. Iran War Supplemental Trump Congress
What It Would Mean Fiscally
The $1.5 trillion total works out to roughly 6 percent of GDP, comparable to the Reagan-era buildup and below the 8-to-10 percent seen during the 1950s and Vietnam era.21War on the Rocks. Why a $1.5 Trillion Defense Budget Request Might Slow the Pentagon’s Reform Efforts In inflation-adjusted terms, the previous peak was $964.4 billion in 2010, during the height of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.22USAFacts. How Much Does the US Spend on the Military
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates that sustaining a $1.5 trillion defense budget would add $5.8 trillion to the national debt through 2035, including interest, against a rolling 12-month federal deficit already at $1.7 trillion.23Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. A $1.5 Trillion Military Budget Would Add $5.8 Trillion to Debt Over a Decade The administration itself does not project holding the line at this level, forecasting a 16 to 17 percent decline in real defense spending for FY2028. Defense spending currently accounts for about 20 percent of the total federal budget and nearly 60 percent of all discretionary spending.
For year-over-year context, Congress approved the FY2026 Defense Appropriations Act on February 3, 2026, at $838.7 billion, passing the House 217-214 and the Senate 71-29.24Senate Appropriations Committee. Congress Approves FY 2026 Defense Appropriations Bill The FY2026 NDAA, authorizing $900.6 billion, was signed on December 18, 2025.25The White House. Congressional Bill S. 1071 Signed Into Law The jump from $838.7 billion to over $1 trillion in discretionary defense funding amounts to a roughly 28 percent year-over-year increase, and that is before the reconciliation and supplemental tracks are added on top.