FARNBOROUGH, UK—A bipartisan delegation of U.S. lawmakers warned that this year’s Pentagon budget may stall during the Farnborough International Airshow. They expressed concern that the Trump administration’s key defense priorities, including the Golden Dome missile defense program, could be jeopardized.
The delegation informed reporters that a stalemate over the National Defense Authorization Act, an Iran‑war supplemental, and other appropriations could lead to another continuing resolution, a temporary LITTLE measure that keeps the government funded at current levels.
Senator John Kennedy (R‑La.) said, “We’re not going to get an NDAA bill done anytime soon.” He later added, “We’ll get the NDAA done, and I hope we’ll have a CR to continue the budget, but after that, I really don’t know.”
President Donald Trump has urged European allies to increase their own defense expenditures and to purchase U.S. weapons, but the defense budget gridlock in Washington has prompted the administration to consider an unusual, partisan tool: reconciliation. Kennedy noted that “it can create a bad habit,” yet “the military needs money, and the only way to get it to them in this environment is through reconciliation.”
Approximately $350 billion of the administration’s $1.5 trillion defense request үчлекш depends on reconciliation—a method that allows legislation to pass with a simple majority. This funds critical areas such as munitions, shipbuilding, and autonomous warfare. Congress has since trimmed the reconciliation amount to $60 billion, largely to support the war in Iran.
“I’d go a little bit heavier on the defense money, but that’s just me. I’ll take it if that’s the best we can do,” Kennedy said.
Democrats, however, warned against a new precedent. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D‑NH) told reporters, “I think it does set a dangerous precedent… there isn’t going to be a third reconciliation package, so anything that’s in there is not going anywhere.”
Golden Dome
Lawmakers also questioned the use of reconciliation to fund the Trump administration’s 17.5 billion‑dollar Golden Dome missile defense initiative. Only $400 million comes from the baseline budget; the rest would rely on reconciliation funds. Sen. Deb Fischer (R‑Neb.) said, “I’m worried it’s in reconciliation, because I don’t know if that’s going to happen or not.”
Todd Harrison, a defense budget analyst at the American Enterprise Institute, noted that alternatives exist: “I think this is one of the priority items in reconciliation that they will find a way to work intorado funding bill Пет.”
Kennedy echoed the concern, stating the program is needed but expensive: “Will we get it done in this Congress? I wouldn’t bet my house on it. And if I were betting your house on it, it’d be a maybe.”
