The U.S. military’s top officer said Wednesday that the Pentagon needs Congress to approve a defense budget as the department negotiates deals with weapons makers to rapidly expand munitions production.
Gen. Dan Caine, the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stopped short of discussing the Pentagon’s recent munitions agreements specifically. But his comments come as the department is striking ambitious, long-term deals with defense companies whose production goals depend on funding Congress has yet to provide.
Asked about President Donald Trump’s $1.5 trillion budget request for 2027 on stage at the National Defense Industrial Association’s Tech Expo in Washington, D.C., Caine said the military needs money to “procure, field, train and operate” the weapons and other capabilities it’s seeking.