Military spending is the next 'big fight': Mick Mulvaney
White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney on Tuesday said the Trump administration will focus on military spending for the 2019 budget.
“I think the big fight you’re going to see is how much the Democrats will hold us up in order to give us the military defense spending numbers that are necessary,” he told FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo on “Mornings with Maria.”
President Donald Trump in December signed a sweeping defense policy bill into law that authorized a near-$700 billion budget for the military. However, lawmakers must agree to roll back a 2011 law that caps 2018 defense spending at $549 billion.
“I think we all agree how much we have to raise the caps on the military side,” Mulvaney said. “The question is how much do we have to raise it on the non-defense side and that’s where the negotiations [are].”
The current military is the smallest the country has seen in 75 years and aging equipment has also been an issue. Despite this, Mulvaney is confident Congress will succeed.
“We will fund the military,” he said. “The question is how much the Democrats will insist that we spend on non-military spending to get that money that we need for the defense.”