Sen. Mark Kelly Calls $1.5T Pentagon Budget Request ‘Outrageous’

Pentagon budget – Sen. Mark Kelly said the Trump administration’s $1.5 trillion defense request is “outrageous,” while raising concerns about missile defense plans and munitions depletion.

A top Arizona Democrat is questioning the logic behind the Trump administration’s biggest Pentagon ask yet, calling the proposed $1.5 trillion defense budget request “outrageous” as Congress prepares for negotiations over fiscal year 2027 spending.

Speaking Sunday on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” Sen.. Mark Kelly said the administration should be laying out a defense plan matched to current conditions rather than seeking what he described as an inflated level of spending.. “They need to submit a defense budget that makes sense for the moment we’re in,” Kelly said.

Last month. the administration released its fiscal year 2027 budget proposal. which is intended as a starting point for talks with Congress on how much to fund annually.. Kelly argued that the request represents a sharp escalation. saying it would amount to a 42% increase in defense spending from 2026 levels.

Kelly. a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. tied the scale of the request to how the department’s top line has grown over time.. He said when he entered the Senate roughly five and a half years ago. the defense budget was just over $700 billion. adding that the new request is “twice as much money. ” which he said is comparable to the total amount the rest of the world spends on defense.

Beyond the overall figure, Kelly said portions of the proposal raise technical and strategic concerns. He pointed specifically to funding for a space-based missile defense system referred to as “Golden Dome,” arguing that the concept faces significant physics and engineering challenges.

“There’s stuff in there, like Golden Dome,” Kelly said, adding that he expects the Pentagon would spend substantial sums only to end up with a system that does not work as intended. In his view, hard-to-succeed components inside the request create risk for both taxpayers and U.S. military readiness.

Kelly also flagged the broader financial picture around U.S.. involvement in the region. noting that the White House is expected to seek additional supplemental funding for the war with Iran.. A Pentagon official. he said. testified at a congressional hearing late last month that the cost of the war was about $25 billion. while U.S.. officials familiar with internal assessments indicated it could be closer to $50 billion.

The senator’s remarks linked funding demands to a readiness question he believes has become increasingly urgent: how quickly the U.S.. is drawing down its weapons and munitions amid sustained conflict.. Kelly said Pentagon briefings he has received suggest the U.S.. has depleted its stockpile to a concerning depth.

“I think it’s fair to say it’s shocking how deep we have gone into these magazines. ” Kelly said. describing the depletion as the result of the current administration’s approach to war.. He said the United States has been drawn into the conflict “without a strategic goal. without a plan. without a timeline. ” warning that the result is less safety for the American people.

Kelly argued that depleted munitions are a problem not only for the Iran conflict, but also for future contingencies.. He said that regardless of whether the next major confrontation is in the western Pacific with China or elsewhere. the United States would be starting from a thinner inventory of ammunition.

The defense budget request and munitions concerns also arrived alongside a political dispute over what senators are told in the course of oversight.. In response to Kelly’s comments. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted on social media that Kelly was “blabbing on TV” while discussing. the defense secretary said. a “CLASSIFIED” Pentagon briefing.

Hegseth also said the Defense Department’s legal counsel would review whether Kelly “violated his oath.” The exchange underscores a growing tension between congressional oversight—particularly during wartime—and the handling of sensitive information.

For lawmakers. the episode highlights how budget negotiations are now unfolding on multiple fronts: lawmakers are weighing the size of the Pentagon’s topline request. the feasibility of major technology efforts like space-based missile defense. and the need to account for war costs that may be rising faster than initial estimates.. At the same time. disputes over munitions stockpiles and how they are discussed publicly may shape whether oversight leads to faster policy adjustments—or deeper political friction.

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