Trump reverses course, tells Pentagon to boost budget request to $750 billion
The president had previously called for a cut in defense spending.
By WESLEY MORGAN
12/09/2018 01:39 PM EST
President Donald Trump has told Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to submit a $750 billion budget proposal for fiscal 2020, in a reversal from his pledge to trim defense spending, two people familiar with the budget negotiations have told POLITICO.
The $750 billion figure emerged from a meeting Tuesday at the White House among Trump, Mattis and the Republican chairmen of the House and Senate Armed Services committees, both people said.
“It’s 750. Secretary Mattis secured that over lunch with the president,†an administration official said of the meeting, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a figure that has not yet been announced. Mattis was joined by Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas). “That’s the top line.â€
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/12/09/trump-pentagon-defense-spending-budget-1054068
