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US Defense Budget

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The US defense budget is governed each year by the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which sets the political and legal framework for Pentagon spending and has been passed for more than 60 years in a row. The NDAA sets out the authorizations, while the actual allocation of funds is made through a separate appropriations act that must pass both the House of Representatives and the Senate. In recent years the budget has grown continuously, from around 738 billion dollars for 2020 to now, for the first time, above the one-trillion-dollar mark. Congress regularly uses the act as a vehicle for military pay, major armament programs and the strategic rivalry with China and Russia, with the 2026 passage heavily marked by partisan dispute and taking place largely along party lines.

Military Times: House passes $1.15 trillion defense budgetCongress.gov: Defense Primer: The NDAA ProcessHouse Armed Services Committee: History of the NDAA

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Thursday, 23 July 2026Geopolitics

US House approves record defense budget of over a trillion dollars

Amid the Iran war, the US House of Representatives has passed a record defense budget of around 1.15 trillion dollars, largely along party lines. Among other things, the bill expands cooperation with Israel. In the Senate the outcome is open.

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives approved an annual defense budget that Al Jazeera (Qatar) and the Guardian (United Kingdom) put at around 1.15 trillion dollars. The FAZ (Germany) emphasizes that funds for the Pentagon rise markedly as a result, and places the decision in the context of the ongoing Iran war. The Guardian stresses that the vote ran almost entirely along party lines and was additionally burdened by Trump's decision to enter the Iran war alongside Israel without congressional approval. Al Jazeera notes that the bill expands military cooperation with Israel and funds a series of Trump priorities. In parallel, according to the Guardian, the Republicans are working on a separate 95-billion-dollar bill to finance the Iran war and support farmers. In the Senate the outcome is considered uncertain. The sources agree that the record budget sets the financial framework for a considerably larger military engagement.

FAZThe GuardianAl Jazeera