End the F-35 boondoggle

Published January 11, 2021 4:42pm ET



The national debt has eclipsed $27 trillion — or more than $200,000 per household. But instead of making a concerted effort to curb spending, lawmakers are determined to double-down on costly boondoggles. Case in point: the F-35 fighter jet, estimated to cost more than $1.5 trillion over the course of the program. Despite long-standing maintenance issues and supply chain concerns, lawmakers recently greenlit $9.6 billion in funding for 96 new F-35s — 17 more than the Trump administration requested.

Members of Congress need to wind down this failed program, not double-down on it. The debt is the No. 1 threat to national security, and lawmakers should start acting like it.

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