Sen. Tim Kaine says Congress will 'have a hard time' reviewing Trump's military budget request [View all]

Source: NBC News

April 5, 2026, 10:12 AM EDT


Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., on Sunday expressed skepticism about the Trump administration's 2027 budget plan, which includes a request of $1.5 trillion from Congress to fund the Defense Department, a 44% increase from the amount that was appropriated to that agency for this year. "I have a hard time seeing that size of an increase as being justified," Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told NBC News' "Meet the Press."

The senator added that he and other members of the committee would be "taking a look at it" over the next several weeks. Part of his doubts, Kaine said, stem from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's decision last week to oust Army chief of staff Gen. Randy George, the chief of chaplains, Maj. Gen. William Green, and the commanding general of Army Transformation and Training Command, David Hodne.

"Here's a question we have to ask, which is, it's not just about the dollars, it's about the Pentagon managing the money," the Virginia senator said. "You just watched the Secretary of Defense fire very respected Army leadership in the middle of a war -- respected leadership on both sides of the aisle in both houses, and there's deep questions about why."

"I don't think Congress is going to be in a mood to write a blank check to a leadership team, a civilian leadership team that seems so inept these days," Kaine added.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/tim-kaine-congress-trump-military-budget-request-iran-hegseth-rcna266776