Trump calls for raise in Pentagon budget to $750bn: Reports
US President Donald Trump is reportedly calling for a raise in the Pentagon budget request for next year to $750 billion.
Trump made the call after a Tuesday meeting with at the White House involving Defense Secretary James Mattis and the chairmen of the House and Senate Armed Services committees, Representative Mac Thornberry and Senator James Inhofe, reports said Sunday.
"It’s 750 [billion]," an administration official familiar with the discussions told Politico. "Secretary Mattis secured that over lunch with the president. That’s the top line." CNN confirmed the report.
Trump had earlier called the Department of Defense's (DOD) current budget of $716 billion "crazy."
The American commander in chief had even been pushing for a 5-percent cut to the budget in a stated effort to trim spending across the federal agencies.
"The President fully supports the National Defense Strategy and continuing to rebuild the military," an administration official told CNN. "With the help of Sen. Inhofe and Chairman Thornberry, President Trump agreed to $750 billion topline."
The budget amount has not yet been officially announced while the DOD forward with a $733 billion proposal.
“There was a discussion with POTUS about how to get $733 billion, and POTUS suggested that if the position is $733 billion, then we should submit a budget at $750 billion as a negotiating tactic,” a source familiar with the discussions told Politico. “That said, the president changes his mind constantly."
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