Biden's Defense-Spending Proposal

President Biden's budget request, released this morning, asks Congress for a combined $813 billion in defense spending for the next fiscal year—which, as the Wall Street Journal notes, is 4 percent larger than the defense budget approved by Congress for this year. The latest proposal, however, is likely the floor for the amount that Congress will end up appropriating. Above all else, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and China's continued threats to Taiwan have boosted the political viability of a larger defense-spending proposal. With all eyes on U.S. efforts to support Ukraine and to shore up the security of frontline…