THE 2026 US MILITARY BUDGET
The US military budget for fiscal year 2026 is $1.01 trillion ($1,010,000,000,000). This is more than the combined military spending of the next nine top-spending countries. In addition, 40% of spending on the non-military part of the discretionary budget is going to the departments of Homeland Security, Justice, and Veterans Affairs. That leaves just 24% of the budget for departments not involved in military, military-adjacent, or policing functions. Both political parties support this military spending.
What does the US get for all this military expenditure? Basically, it gets the ability to project power anywhere in the world at any time. And if the controversial $25 billion “golden dome” missile shield goes into effect, no nation will be able to penetrate US defenses from the air or from space. Meanwhile the social safety net is being gutted: “…one in ten children face food insecurity, one in four adults experience financial hardship, and homelessness is at a record high.” Medicaid cuts are estimated to remove
medical insurance from 10 million people. The US has become an armored colossus, weakened in its vitals.
Sources: International Institute for Strategic Studies, 2025 edition; Brown University, Cost of War Project, July,2025; Steven Semler, Center for International Policy, May 2025; Center for Economic Policy and Research, June 2025