More money for this war? This rigmarole won't wash — SkimNews
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- Trump's $350 billion reconciliation defense proposal appears "to be going down in flames," despite seeking $17.9 billion for Golden Dome (only 2.2% in the official budget request) and $54.6 billion for drone programs (only 1.8% in the base request)
- Space Force General Michael Guetlein warned flatly last month that "if they don't figure it out, there is no Golden Dome because there is no funding," highlighting how dependent the program is on the reconciliation vehicle
- Army Lt. Gen. Steven Marks told a defense-industry gathering September 9 that his drone programs will lose "momentum" without the $53.6 billion plus-up, noting adversaries "can take a $100,000 drone and conduct an attack against a $2 billion vessel"
- Iranian strikes crippled Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar — the command post that ran U.S. air campaigns for over two decades — and "blew the hell out of" Bahrain, home of the Navy's 5th Fleet, with the Pentagon yet to detail the damage
- Air Force is pivoting hard toward defense, buying $1.9 million counter-drone vehicles, hardened transportable shelters, underground squadron operations buildings, and creating a new career field for airfield defense after drone and missile lessons from Iran and Ukraine
- Navy redesignated 19 future Virginia-class submarines from SSN to SSGN, stretching each hull 84 feet to boost Tomahawk capacity from roughly 37 to 65 missiles — a $4 billion-per-boat hardware tweak intended to replace retiring Ohio-class firepower
- Pentagon leaders warn that if the $350 billion reconciliation fails, they will have to cut operations and maintenance accounts (training, fuel, parts) to keep priority programs alive — dulling the readiness of forces already exposed by cheap-drone attacks
Why it matters: If the $350 billion reconciliation package dies, the Pentagon must choose between protecting marquee programs (Golden Dome, drone swarms) and preserving the operations-and-maintenance accounts — training, fuel, parts — that keep forces combat-ready. The $1.1 trillion base defense budget likely passes, but the cuts would land exactly when six months of fighting in Iran has shown that $100,000 drones can wreck $2 billion ships and longstanding command posts alike.
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