Spot The Odd One Out: US Defense Spending By President
by Tyler Durden
Friday, Feb 20, 2026 - 05:45 AM
Since 1997, U.S. defense spending has moved through multiple cycles, but the long-term trajectory is upward.
This chart, via Visual Capitalist's Bruno Venditti, tracks National Defense (Function 050) budget authority in constant 2025 dollars and shows how totals changed under each president and party, culminating in a proposed record $1.5 trillion budget for 2027P.
Data is sourced from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Historical Tables, Table 5.1 (National Defense budget authority), supplemented by Reuters reporting for the 2027 proposal. It also leverages analysis from the Council on Foreign Relations.
Steady Growth Through the 2000s and 2010s
In the late 1990s, under President Clinton, U.S. defense spending sat around the mid-$500 billion level in real terms.
Spending rose significantly in the 2000s during the Bush years amid the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, reaching levels above $900 billion before 2010.
Continued high budgets carried throughout the Obama administration, driven by ongoing post-9/11 commitments and modernization efforts.
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/spot-odd-one-out-us-defense-spending-president
