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Home / Military analysis / Trump’s $1.45 trillion defense budget is the largest—and most contested—in American history
Military analysis

May 19, 2026

Trump’s $1.45 trillion defense budget is the largest—and most contested—in American history

“There’s no question that the U.S. can get more out of its defense industrial base,” Benjamin Friedman, policy director of Defense Priorities, told us, “but there are some real resource constraints in terms of manpower and talent that are going to be hard to overcome in the short term.”

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Benjamin
Friedman

Policy Director

Defense Priorities

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