Despite previously calling for a reduction in Defense spending, President Donald Trump is asking the Pentagon to now call for $750 billion in 2020 as a "negotiating tactic" to curb Democrat attempts to pull the final number below the Pentagon's $733 billion, Politico reported.
"There was a discussion with POTUS about how to get $733 billion, and POTUS suggested that if the position is $733 billion, then we should submit a budget at $750 billion as a negotiating tactic," a source told Politico. "That said, the president changes his mind constantly."
The number came from a Tuesday lunch meeting between President Trump, Defense Secretary James Mattis and GOP chairmen of the Senate and House armed services committees, Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., and Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, according to the report.
President Trump had previously called for a 5 percent reduction in Defense spending, called the top line number for 2020 $700 billion.
The $750 billion request will be made public this week, a source told Politico, even if the Pentagon and Office of Management and Budget "are still moving forward on the smaller $733 billion proposal," per the report.
The Pentagon is "working with OMB to determine the department's top line budget number," according to Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Michael Andrews' statement Sunday.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.