Whether it’s Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton being sworn into the presidency on January 20th one thing is clear: The defense budget will probably get bigger.
“No one is satisfied with President Obama’s current policy,” says LtGen Emerson "Emo" Gardner USMC ret. “Hillary is seen as much more hawkish and many of her policies, particularly toward Russia, will be more aggressive and more strident.”
On the Republican side, Trump has been a bit more ambiguous, but the defense budget would likely be increased. “It’s difficult to know what a Trump administration would be, because he’s much more obscure about who his advisors would be but he clearly, at every instance, is calling for making the military great again.”
Gardner thinks:
- Hillary Clinton’s budget would use more robust defense spending as an incentive to get Republicans on board for broader stimulus
- Shipbuilding and aircraft budgets are set for a 30% increase over the next five years and programs are concentrated in fewer hand; big players like Lockheed Martin are beneficiaries
- We need to replace now 30 year old Air Force and Navy capital items
Unlike other issues this election, there is bipartisan support for increased defense spending, says Garder.
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