Iran War and U.S. Defense Policy

President Trump’s FY2027 budget requests $1.5 trillion for defense — roughly a 42% increase and the largest Pentagon request in decades — to fund a 5–7% troop pay raise, $65.8 billion for new ships and munitions for the Iran war, development of a “Golden Dome” space‑based missile defense system and other buildup measures that the White House says approach historic pre–World War II levels. The plan pairs a roughly 10% cut to nondefense discretionary spending — framed as shifting responsibilities like Medicaid, Medicare and daycare to state and local governments (Trump said “We’re fighting wars. We can’t take care of day care”) — and specifies cuts including $5 billion from NIH, reductions to refugee resettlement and unaccompanied‑children programs, and lower TSA screening funding offset by boosts to air‑traffic control and National Guard mobilization.