Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., said Monday that any cuts to defense spending would amount to a decision to leave the nation defenseless.
“[W]e are in a crisis situation, and cutting the defense budget now is basically a decision not to defend the nation, and that’s not a path we can go down,” Cheney said on Fox News.
The U.S. will spend more than $700 billion this fiscal year, but President Trump has asked all major agencies to find a 5 percent cut for 2020. Trump said in October he thought defense would come in around $700 billion, a cut of about 2 percent.
Cheney said that target is worrying, and said cuts don’t make sense after the defense budget was “decimated” by former President Barack Obama.
“We’ve only begun the process of rebuilding our military,” she said.
She said Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and others in the administration are working to ensure Trump understands the need to boost military spending. But she also called on Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney to take the same position.
[Related: Jim Mattis warns top Democrat: Defense cuts could lead to war]
“I think it’s very important that OMB Director Mulvaney help the president understand and support the need to continue to make sure we increase the funding for the military,” she said.
Without more funding, the U.S. could fall behind to other military forces around the world, she said.
“The kind of superiority we’ve been able to rely on now for decades is at risk of slipping away, so we have absolutely got to continue to fund our men and women in uniform,” she said.
