Military spy budget surges 49%, details secret

By Brett Rowland
The Center Square

President Donald Trump’s Pentagon requested $50 billion from taxpayers on Tuesday for a budget so secret that the military will only say how much it costs.

The Trump administration is requesting $50 billion for the Military Intelligence Program in fiscal year 2027, a nearly 49% jump from the $33.6 billion requested in fiscal 2026 and a 79% increase from the $27.9 billion requested in fiscal 2023.

The Military Intelligence Program covers intelligence activity conducted by military departments and agencies within the Department of Defense in support of tactical U.S. military operations, according to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The Pentagon has publicly released the MIP top line budget figure annually since February 2012.

Despite the significant increase, the Pentagon said all other MIP budget figures and program information remain classified for national security reasons, leaving taxpayers with no visibility into what drove the nearly $16.4 billion single-year surge or how the money would be spent.

The Military Intelligence Program budget request comes as part of Trump’s sweeping proposal to increase total defense spending to $1.5 trillion in fiscal year 2027, a 44% increase over current levels. The Department of War alone would see its budget climb to $441 billion under the plan, funding priorities including the Golden Dome missile defense system, military pay raises, new shipbuilding and the development of the F-47 sixth-generation fighter jet.

The budget proposal has drawn criticism for its lack of fiscal detail. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget called it “an astonishing lack of information,” noting it omits key projections including total spending, expected revenue and future debt levels. The White House has defended the limited release, saying the document was intentionally restricted to near-term proposals.

Republican leaders on the Senate and House Armed Services Committees praised the spending increases, arguing the U.S. faces “the most dangerous global environment since World War II.” Senate Democrats pushed back, with Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, calling it a “bloated, undisciplined budget.”