President Trump vowed on Thursday to unshackle the Pentagon’s budget from sequestration, telling sailors gathered aboard the aircraft carrier Gerald Ford that the move would ultimately allow the U.S. Navy to chart its way to lower costs.
“On Tuesday in my address to a joint session of Congress, I asked Congress to eliminate the defense sequester, and to support my request for a great rebuilding of the United States military and the United States Navy,” Trump said in his speech on the hangar deck of the carrier in Newport News, Va.
“After years of endless budget cuts that have impaired our defenses, I am calling for one of the largest defense spending increases in history,” Trump said. “And by eliminating the sequester and the uncertainty it creates, we will make it easier for the Navy to plan for the future and thus, to control costs and get the best deals for the taxpayer, which of course, is very important.
“Gotta get a good deal,” the president added. “We don’t make a good deal, we’re not doing our job.”
The comment echoes statements frequently made by service chiefs while testifying on Capitol Hill, who point out that budget caps don’t allow the services to plan for long-lead items.
The Trump administration unveiled a budget outline this week that included a $54 billion increase in military spending above the caps set by the Budget Control Act. Trump has said the Pentagon’s budget boost will be financed in part by cuts to other areas of the federal government, such as foreign aid programs. Vice President Mike Pence said Wednesday that the budget will be “deficit neutral,” meaning that the administration does not intend for its budget to add to the national deficit.
“In these troubled times, our Navy is the smallest it’s been since World War I. That’s a long time ago. In fact, I just spoke with Navy and industry leaders and have discussed my plans to undertake a major expansion of our entire Navy fleet, including having the 12-carrier Navy we need,” he said. The Navy now has 10 carriers, but that will increase to 11 when the Ford is commissioned this year.
He later said “Our Navy is now the smallest it’s been since — believe it or not — World War I. Don’t worry, it’ll soon be the largest it’s been, don’t worry, think of that.”
If Trump follows through on his promise, it’ll be a tall order. The Navy now has 274 ships. At the end of World War II, it had more than 6,700, according to Naval History and Heritage Command.
Trump on Thursday tied his military spending hikes to his message of economic populism, hinting that he expects his defense rebuilding efforts to create jobs in the process.
“American ships will sail the seas. American planes will soar the skies,” Trump said. “American workers will build our fleets.”
