White House asks for record-breaking $1.5 trillion for defense in 2027 budget request
President Donald Trump pauses as he finishes speaking about the Iran war from the Cross Hall of the White House on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Washington. (Alex Brandon-Pool/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The White House, in their budget request for the 2027 fiscal year, is asking Congress to approve roughly $1.5 trillion for defense — a record-breaking military spending request as the U.S. remains in its fifth week of war with Iran.
That is a $445 billion, or a 42% increase from the 2026 total level, according to the White House. Non-defense spending is reduced by $73 billion, or 10%, according to the budget released by the White House on Friday.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Senator Andy Kim, during a news conference ahead of the State of the Union address at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (Photographer: Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Senator Andy Kim, D-N.J., is aiming to tackle the nation’s literacy crisis with a new bill focused on increasing children’s access to books.
Kim will introduce his “Open Books, Open Doors Act” on Monday, urging the Department of Education to authorize $100 million in annual grants to states and local communities to combat illiteracy and what he calls the country’s “book deserts,” which is an area that doesn’t have reliable access to books.
“Reading is a powerful tool that every child in America should have,” Kim said in a statement to ABC News. “We know literacy and reading unlocks life-long success in school and out, but right now millions of kids across our country are living in book deserts.”
He told ABC News in an exclusive interview that he feels it’s his responsibility to pass legislation that helps more kids develop their reading skills.
“This is not meant to be a messaging bill,” Kim said, adding, “This is not just meant to put the idea on the table, like, I want to get this done.”
“I want us to be able to immediately be able to benefit the kids in this country as they grow up,” he said.
His legislation aims to ensure every child is positioned for long-term success in school and in life. Kim noted that illiteracy is dire, not only for children, but also for adults. When adults have difficulty reading, it hurts the economy and American families, he said.
If passed, Kim’s bill would use the federal education department grant program to support states’ efforts to combat reading rates while prioritizing the locations that struggle most with access to books and “high quality” reading materials.
Actor and literacy advocate LeVar Burton, who for two decades helped young students get excited about literature as the host of PBS’ “Reading Rainbow,” endorsed Kim’s push to provide children with equitable access to books.
“We must ensure that books are easy to find and free to borrow in every neighborhood — because when a child can read, they possess the power to write their own future,” Burton told ABC News in a statement.
The reading crisis is widespread. Recent data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), otherwise known as “The Nation’s Report Card,” found about a third of fourth graders are unable to read above the basic level. Access to books and a decrease in students who read for enjoyment are major factors contributing to the country’s sliding reading scores, according to the legislation and education experts.
Education Department skeptics and government officials, however, believe the agency has too much spending power already — without achievement results.
After a vocal minority of House Democrats and education advocates decried public school funding for lagging national test scores, Education Secretary Linda McMahon noted that continuing to spend federal dollars on the literacy issue was the wrong solution.
“Instead of solutions to confront our nation’s literacy crisis, they [Congressional Democrats] defended the status quo,” McMahon wrote in a recent post on X.
“The solution: return education to the states and empower local leaders to focus on the basics,” she added.
The future of Kim’s legislation could ultimately rest with McMahon, who has been tasked with putting herself out of a job by shuttering the department. Kim, who sits on the Senate’s education committee, has been critical of McMahon since she was tapped to lead the agency.
Kim said he has “deep disagreements” with moves made under her leadership that he alleged harm kids and their opportunities in life.
The Department of Education has not responded to ABC News’ request for comment.
On the heels of Read Across America week, the bill supports science of reading programs — the phonics-based reading approach — and early screening and intervention for reading disabilities. The legislation also establishes a federal clearinghouse that would identify evidence-based “book access” strategies to help advance literacy in local communities.
More than 20 education organizations support Kim’s bill, from the American Library Association to Reach Out and Read, a nonprofit organization that encourages families to read aloud together and provides books to millions of households nationwide.
Reach Out and Read CEO Lynette Fraga told ABC News having early access to books at home not only fuels literacy outcomes but also helps students thrive in life.
“If we think about early childhood we think about return on investment,” Fraga said. “We know that if we invest in the earliest years through things like access, through things like meaningful programs and child centered practices and systems, the return on investment is huge.”
Kim suggested that books “open doors” for millions of children. His bill currently has no co-sponsors — and its fate is unclear at this time — but he’s optimistic about support for this issue across party lines.
“I hope that all of us can get on the same page about increasing literacy in America and can see the value of that,” Kim said. “We are stronger as a society if we have a more literate society. I think everyone can recognize that.”
Reverend Al Sharpton speaks during last day of National Action Network Convention at Sheraton Times Square. (Photo by Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — What is expected to be the biggest gathering of possible Democratic 2028 presidential hopefuls is set to happen at the convention for the National Action Network, an organization dedicated to fighting for civil rights and equality. In New York City this week, the potential candidates will gather to look to engage with Black civil rights leaders and voters.
The event, hosted by Rev. Al Sharpton, has become a hub for those considering a presidential run and will offer a preview of what the jostling for the Black vote in the 2028 election will look like.
“Two years out, we’ll see some of the people that have been thinking of running, and they’ll see us,” Sharpton told POLITICO in an interview about the gathering.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Sen. Mark Kelly and Rep. Ro Khanna are among the potential 2028 Democratic candidates who will attend the convention, according to the National Action Network website.
Nearly all of the lawmakers have either expressed interest or have not shut down the idea about running for president. All of them are set to take part in a conversation with Sharpton.
The four-day-long National Action Network’s 35th anniversary convention is an opportunity for potential 2028 presidential candidates to connect with Black voters and test out their messaging ahead of the 2028 cycle.
Harris has not closed the door on running for president again, saying in a February podcast interview that she has not yet decided whether she would run again, adding that she might.
Sharpton told POLITICO not to count Harris out, calling her a strong force in the Black community.
“I wouldn’t ignore the fact that she’s absolutely a potent force in the Black community,” Sharpton told POLITICO. “I do not have any idea whether she’s going to try to go again, but I think she’s due all the respect for what she did, and the fact that she got more votes than any presidential candidate in American history, other than Trump. I think she has been ignored, and we’re going to raise that at our convention.”
The 2024 election showed President Donald Trump — who made an appearance at the convention in 2002, 14 years before he was first elected president — made gains with Black voters, a group that has been critical to the Democratic Party for decades.
According to the Pew Research Center, Trump nearly doubled his support among Black voters between 2020 and 2024, with 8% voting for him in 2020 compared to 15% in 2024. Still, 83% of Black voters backed Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
Janiyah Thomas, who served as Trump’s Black media director during the 2024 election, told ABC News in a phone interview that Trump’s gains with Black voters stemmed from his focus on issues that matter most to American households.
“Overall, the president made gains with Black voters because I think we cut out all the noise and just spoke to the kitchen table issues that really matter to all people, no matter what race, and I think people really love the president’s authenticity,” Thomas said.
And while Democrats are looking to win back Black voters who supported Trump, the convention will also give potential Democratic presidential candidates a chance to connect with the Black community, including those who previously struggled to garner support from Black voters.
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, a potential 2028 presidential candidate who struggled to garner support from Black voters during the 2020 presidential election, has increased his engagement with Black candidates by campaigning with Shawn Harris in his congressional election in Georgia and Chedrick Greene in his state Senate election in Michigan.
The United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to the press. (Photo by Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The State Department has formally launched a new entity charged with anticipating and responding to dangers posed by Iran and other U.S. adversaries’ weaponization of advanced technology, including artificial intelligence, officials familiar with the matter tell ABC News.
The department’s Bureau of Emerging Threats has been tasked with safeguarding American national security against cyberattacks, the weaponization of space and similar malicious efforts, they said.
In addition to Iran, the officials identified novel threats from China, Russia, North Korea and foreign terrorist organizations as particular areas of focus.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the creation of the Bureau of Emerging Threats when he revealed his sweeping reorganization plan for the department nearly a year ago, but few specifics about its purpose have been revealed before now.
“The bureau will address not only the current threats we face today in cyberspace, outer space, critical infrastructure, and through the misuse of disruptive technology like AI and quantum, but those we will face in the decades ahead,” State Department principal deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott said.
Anny Vu, the senior official leading the bureau who also recently served as the Trump administration’s chargé d’affaires to China, said her team of experts will be “dedicated to leveraging foreign policy and all tools of national power” to protect U.S. interests.
Officials say the Bureau of Emerging Threats will include five divisions: the Office of Cybersecurity, the Office of Critical Infrastructure Security, the Office of Disruptive Technology, the Office of Space Security and the Office of Threat Assessment.
The Iranian regime and its affiliates have a long history of using cyberattacks to target U.S. interests, and the American cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike says it identified an uptick in activity from pro-Iranian actors after the U.S. and Israel initiated military action against the country in late February.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is investigating at least one major attack believed to have been carried out by pro-Iran hackers since the conflict began–a breach of the American medical technologies company, Stryker.
The State Department formally notified Congress about the creation of the Bureau of Emerging Threats on Friday, the same day the White House released its national policy framework for artificial intelligence.
The four-page blueprint calls on Congress to pass “minimally burdensome” laws governing the use of AI to override more restrictive state legislation. It also says lawmakers shouldn’t not seek to create any new federal agencies aimed at regulating AI.
