The huge proposed increase would be partly offset by steep cuts to domestic programs, some of which the Trump administration describes as wasteful.
In the days before releasing his plan, the president and his aides framed the proposed increase for defense in urgent terms, citing a need to restock munitions and other supplies as the war with Iran continued. At one point, Mr. Trump indicated at a private lunch that military spending needed to be a national priority, even at the expense of federal safety-net programs and other government aid.
“It’s not possible for us to take care of day care, Medicaid, Medicare, all of these individual things,” he said. “They can do it on a state basis.” He added that the focus had to be “military protection.”
But Democrats and Republicans have recently expressed a shared unease about raising military spending to the extent that Mr. Trump has suggested, fretting that the administration had failed to keep them updated about the status of the Iran war, which is now in its fifth week.
The White House also offered a complicated forecast for the government’s own finances, months after slashing taxes while imposing tariffs on imports from around the world. The administration predicted that revenues would rise next fiscal year, compared with 2026, citing strong economic growth, even though the war with Iran has recently led many economists to question the White House and its assumptions.
On Capitol Hill, Mr. Trump’s proposal quickly stoked early bipartisan criticism. Senator Susan Collins of Maine, the Republican chair of the chamber’s appropriations panel, took issue with the president’s attempt once again to reduce spending on medical research, education and other programs.