U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, published an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal discussing the fiscal year 2026 defense appropriations and raising concerns about the current level of U.S. military funding.
In his piece, McConnell references Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s warning about rising threats to national security: “This is a 1939 moment. Or, hopefully, a 1981 moment. A moment of mounting urgency.” McConnell points out that fighting wars has historically been much more expensive than preventing them, noting that U.S. defense spending reached 37% of gross domestic product during World War II.
McConnell criticizes the administration’s FY26 defense budget request for not learning from history. He argues that if policymakers want to emulate the defense investments made at the start of Ronald Reagan’s presidency—when military spending as a share of GDP was roughly double today’s levels—they must offer more consistent support for national defense.
He writes: “I urged President Trump at the beginning of his second term to reject calls to narrow the scope of U.S. strategic interests and to invest in the armed forces and defense industrial base. Mr. Trump rightly disregarded the advice of isolationists and conducted decisive strikes against Iran while sustaining the Aukus partnership with Australia and the U.K. The president wants the best possible military for America and has set ambitious priorities such as a comprehensive missile defense, aka Golden Dome, and a shipbuilding renaissance. I have supported him in these endeavors.”
With less than two months before interim government funding expires, McConnell says it remains uncertain whether Congress and President Trump will use this period to approve increased investments through the Senate’s full-year defense appropriations bill for 2026.
He notes internal disagreements within the administration over resources needed for rebuilding military capabilities: “Senior Pentagon officials have expressed a commitment to rebuilding American hard power. But others in the administration have balked at the resources required for these overdue efforts.” He highlights actions earlier this year when budget advisers promoted a full-year continuing resolution that extended previous lower funding levels.
The senator describes how complex budgeting maneuvers—including attempts to combine multiyear projects like shipbuilding into single spending measures—have left key programs underfunded or delayed. According to McConnell, Pentagon leaders now acknowledge shortfalls exceeding $25 billion after reconciliation for 2025.
He continues: “Presidential priorities like Golden Dome and restoring shipbuilding are necessary to keep America safe, but they will fail without sustained long-term investment.”
Recent Pentagon estimates place munitions shortfalls between $20 billion and $30 billion, yet McConnell says these gaps remain unaddressed in next year’s budget proposal despite limited production capacity being cited as an issue by senior officials.
By some independent projections referenced by McConnell, developing Golden Dome could cost over $3.5 trillion across two decades but may already be underfunded this year alone. Other major weapons systems also face financial constraints; he notes that development of new Air Force and Navy fighter aircraft programs are behind schedule or under-resourced by hundreds of millions of dollars due to indecision or lack of funds.
Ongoing operations in regions such as the Middle East have further strained budgets for operations and maintenance—adding an estimated $2 billion in total shortfalls when combined with deficits affecting Navy ship operations.
“These shortfalls aren’t breaking news,” McConnell states, explaining that bipartisan action led to passage of a National Defense Authorization Act providing $32 billion above initial White House requests. As chair of his subcommittee, he worked with Pentagon officials to include extra funds targeting urgent munitions needs and unfunded requirements from various military branches—raising their proposed allocation by $21.7 billion beyond what was requested by OMB for 2026.
“As we look ahead to conferencing this bill with the House, Congress ought to ensure that this higher allocation is what the president signs into law,” he adds. “Mr. Trump’s advisers should encourage him to help Congress pass a defense appropriations bill that makes the historic investments needed to restore peace through strength.”
McConnell warns that passing only another stopgap measure or holding funding at OMB-requested levels would harm military readiness and threaten President Trump’s legacy on national security.
“Mr. McConnell, a Republican, is a U.S. senator from Kentucky.”
