White House Misses Budget Deadline as $500 Billion Pentagon Boost Triggers Scramble

The Post reports aides lack a plan to allocate the roughly 50% increase approved over the budget chief's objections.

Overview

The Washington Post reports President Donald Trump approved Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's request for a roughly 50% increase in military spending totaling about $500 billion.
The administration is more than two weeks past the Feb. 2 statutory deadline to submit its budget to Congress, with no finalized proposal.
White House and Pentagon officials are struggling to determine credible uses for the added funds and have consulted former senior defense officials for guidance, according to the reporting.
Analysts say the scale of the increase appears disconnected from Hegseth's January defense strategy that prioritized the Western Hemisphere over other regions.
Retired Marine Mark Cancian called the situation a "head-scratcher," and Stimson Center analyst Julia Gledhill questioned the transparency of expanding a trillion-dollar budget without detailed spending data.