President Donald Trump will propose $716 billion in Defense Department funds in his fiscal year 2019 budget request, The Washington Post reported Friday.The request is scheduled for release in February and would reflect a more than 7 percent increase in defense spending over the fiscal 2018 budget proposal that has not yet been cleared by Congress.
The U.S. government spent $634 billion on defense in 2017 and DoD currently operates at last year’s funding levels, according to the newspaper.
Trump’s potential $716 billion defense spending plan would cover DoD’s annual budget, overseas operations and maintenance of U.S. nuclear weapons for the next fiscal year.
His funding proposal would also support efforts to modernize U.S. military weapons systems and help the country address threats from nation-state adversaries.
