White House asks for record-breaking $1.5 trillion for defense in new 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 its 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 would be then be reduced by $73 billion, or 10%, according to the budget released by the White House on Friday.
Major targets of the proposed spending cuts are environmental programs across many federal agencies, including canceling more than $15 billion in Department of Energy grants related to clean energy.
The White House budget also continues the Department of Education’s “path to elimination,” proposes cuts to agriculture spending by 19% and proposes slashing the Internal Revenue Service’s budget by $1.4 billion.
“The 2027 Budget builds on the President’s vision by continuing to constrain non-defense spending and reform the Federal Government,” Office of Budget and Management Director Russ Vought wrote in the request to Congress.
President Donald Trump’s budget request, which is largely a wishlist sent to Congress in order to signal the administration’s priorities, lists “reducing violent crime and protecting national security” along with “protecting the homeland and removing dangerous illegal aliens” as the other two spending priorities for the upcoming year.
The budget proposes more than $19 billion for federal law enforcement — a 15% increase from 2026. The budget maintains “critical funding” for Immigration and Customs Enforcement next year, equal to the 2026 level, including $2.2 billion to maintain 41,500 immigration detention beds.
The White House said that an investment in defense and Department of Homeland Security would be, in part, achieved through budget reconciliation.
The reconciliation process comes with a key advantage of not being subject to a filibuster. This means legislation can be passed with a simple majority vote in the Senate and that Republicans wouldn’t necessarily need Democratic support, signaling an attempt from the White House to avoid Democratic demands for non-defense increases.
“Reconciliation funding in 2027 will enable DHS to fully implement the President’s immigration enforcement initiatives, finish construction of the border wall on the Southwest border, procure advanced border security technology, and continue the largest recapitalization investment in the history of the U.S. Coast Guard,” according to the White House.
In this Nov. 17, 2025, file photo, President Donald Trump, is shown with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, at a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C. Win McNamee/Getty Images, FILE
(WASHINGTON) — The Trump administration announced Tuesday it will end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somalis in March, effectively forcing as many as 2,400 people out of the U.S., despite the president’s remarks last month that Somalia was “barely a country.”
Somali migrants with TPS will be required to leave the country by March 17, Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced Tuesday. That is, unless a court pauses the TPS revocation.
“Temporary means temporary,” Noem wrote in a statement to ABC News. “Country conditions in Somalia have improved to the point that it no longer meets the law’s requirement for Temporary Protected Status. Further, allowing Somali nationals to remain temporarily in the United States is contrary to our national interests. We are putting Americans first.”
The move comes after President Donald Trump has recently criticized Somali immigrants, describing them as “garbage” and saying he doesn’t want them in the United States during a Cabinet meeting last month.
“We always take people from Somalia, places that are a disaster, right? Filthy, dirty, disgusting, ridden with crime. The only thing they’re good at is going after ships,” Trump said as he addressed supporters in Pennsylvania last month.
DHS made a reference to Tuesday’s announcement in an X post that had a black and white photo of Trump in the Oval Office that referenced the 2013 movie “Captain Phillips,” which dramatized the 2009 merchant boat hostage situation by Somali pirates.
“I am the captain now,” DHS wrote in the post.
TPS is given to nationals of select countries who are unable to return home safely due to conditions such as famine, war and environmental disasters. Immigrants who have TPS designation can not be removed by DHS and are given an Eligible for an Employment Authorization Document that allows them to legally work in the U.S.
Somalia has been under a TPS designation since 1991, when civil war broke out and displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians. It has been renewed several times over the last 34 years as the conflict has grown.
The State Department currently has a travel advisory — in effect since May of last year — warning people not to travel to Somalia due to “crime, terrorism, civil unrest, health, kidnapping, piracy” and other issues.
Noem did not go into further detail about her description of improved conditions in Somalia, which appear to contradict the State Department’s advisory.
As of Tuesday, there are 2,471 Somali nationals currently in the U.S. under TPS, with 1,383 in the country with pending TPS applications, a source with knowledge of the data told ABC News.
As of 2024 there are nearly 260,000 Americans of Somali descent living in the U.S, according to the census. Of that population, more than 115,000 are foreign-born and more than 93,000 — or more than 80% — of the foreign-born population are naturalized U.S. citizens, according to the census data.
Trump has repeatedly bashed the American Somali community, particularly the ones living in Minnesota, which has the largest share of Somali nationals in the country, according to the census.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has slammed Trump for his comments targeting Somalis.
“We’ve got little children going to school today, who their president called them ‘garbage,'” Walz said at an event last month.
Trump has repeated his criticisms against the Somali community following reports of fraud in the state, allegedly perpetrated by Somali immigrants against Minnesota’s social services system.
The allegations are being investigated; Minnesota officials have disputed the allegations.
The Trump administration has revoked and refused to renew TPS protections for several countries since he took office last year — including for Venezuelan nationals.
However, those decisions have been fought in court cases that have argued that DHS has made its moves in part by racial animus, citing the president and Noem’s rhetoric.
ABC News’ Armando Garcia contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump conducts a news conference in the White House briefing room about the war in Iran on Monday, April 6, 2026. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump has set several deadlines for launching massive attacks on critical Iranian infrastructure if Tehran doesn’t make a peace deal includes reopening the vital Strait of Hormuz since U.S.-Israeli military operations against Iran began in February.
Here is a timeline of Trump’s deadlines so far:
March 2
Two days after the U.S. and Israel began attacking Iran, Trump told reporters at the White House, “We projected four to five weeks, but we have capability to go far longer than that.”
March 21
Trump gave a 48-hour ultimatum in a social media post calling on Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz, which is a trading route off the country’s southern coast that facilitates the transport of a huge amount of the world’s petroleum supply.
“the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!” he wrote.
March 23
Trump posted another message on social media, in all caps, announcing a five-day extension “SUBJECT TO THE SUCCESS OF THE ONGOING MEETINGS AND DISCUSSIONS.”
March 26
Trump said in a social media post that he was “pausing the period of Energy Plant destruction by 10 Days to Monday, April 6, 2026, at 8 P.M. Eastern Time.”
“Talks are ongoing and, despite erroneous statements to the contrary by the Fake News Media, and others, they are going very well,” he wrote.
The president later said he was inclined to provide a 10-day extension because Iran had allowed some oil-carrying ships to safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian officials did not comment publicly on the president’s threat. The next day, an Iranian missile struck Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.
April 4
The president went on social media around 10 a.m., claiming “time was running out.”
“48 hours before all Hell will reign down on them,” he wrote.
April 5
Trump made several statements to the press and on social media on Easter Sunday that the U.S. was setting a deadline of Tuesday, April 7 at 8 p.m. ET, which would be Wednesday, April 8, at 3:30 a.m. in Tehran.
He also posted profanity laden statement on the holiest day in the Christian calendar on social media, demanding that Iran open the strait or “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran.”
Trump told ABC News’ Rachel Scott that, if there was no deal in the next 48 hours, “We’re blowing up the whole country.”
April 6
The president held a news conference where he repeatedly made his threats against Iran’s leadership if they don’t come to an agreement with the U.S.
“The entire country can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night,” he said.
April 7
The president made another threat on social media, indicating he could attack Iran in the night.
“A whole civilization will die tonight, never be brought back again. I don’t want it to happen, but it probably will,” he wrote.
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) talks to reporters after former President Bill Clinton did not appear for a closed-door deposition in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on January 13, 2026 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — The chairman of the Republican-led House Oversight Committee said the panel will move forward with contempt of Congress proceedings against former President Bill Clinton after he failed to appear for a subpoenaed deposition on Tuesday as part of the panel’s investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The committee had threatened to hold the former president and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress if they did not appear for separate scheduled closed depositions set for Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
“I think everyone knows by now, Bill Clinton did not show up. And I think it’s important to note that this subpoena was voted on in a bipartisan manner by this committee. This wasn’t something that I just issued as chairman of the committee. This was voted on by the entire committee in a unanimous vote of the House Oversight Committee to subpoena former President Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,” Oversight Chairman James Comer said Tuesday morning.
“We will move next week in the House Oversight Committee markup to hold former President Clinton in contempt of Congress,” Comer, a Republican, later added.
A lawyer for the Clintons, David Kendall, has not responded to requests for comment on whether Hillary Clinton will appear on Capitol Hill for her Wednesday subpoenaed deposition.
In a four-page letter posted on social media Tuesday morning, the Clintons publicly called out Comer for threatening to hold them in contempt of Congress.
“Despite everything that needs to be done to help our country, you are on the cusp of bringing Congress to a halt to pursue a rarely used process literally designed to result in our imprisonment. This is not the way out of America’s ills, and we will forcefully defend ourselves,” the letter states.
The Clintons contend in the letter that Comer’s approach to the committee’s work on the Epstein investigation has “prevented progress in discovering the facts about the government’s role” and that the chairman has “done nothing” to force the Justice Department to comply with its disclosure obligations required by Epstein Files Transparency Act, passed late last year.
“We have tried to give you the little information that we have,” the Clintons wrote. “We’ve done so because Mr. Epstein’s crimes were horrific. If the Government didn’t do all it could to investigate and prosecute these crimes, for whatever reason, that should be the focus of your work — to learn why and to prevent that from happening ever again. There is no evidence that you are doing so.”
For months, Republicans on the committee have been demanding that the Clintons provide testimony to lawmakers, citing the former president’s travels on Epstein’s private aircraft in the early 2000s and the Clinton “family’s past relationship” with Epstein and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell. The panel initially issued subpoenas for the Clintons on Aug. 5 to appear in October.
Kendall has continued to argue that the couple has no information relevant to the committee’s investigation of the federal government’s handling of investigations into Epstein and Maxwell, and should not be required to appear for in-person testimony. Kendall has contended that the Clintons should be permitted to provide the limited information they have to the committee in writing.
“There is simply no reasonable justification for compelling a former President and Secretary of State to appear personally, given that their time and roles in government had no connection to the matter at hand,” Kendall wrote in one of the letters sent to the committee in October of last year. He argued that the committee should excuse the Clintons, as the committee had done for five former attorneys general who were each excused after certifying to the committee that they had no relevant knowledge.
Bill Clinton has not been accused of wrongdoing and denies having any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes. No Epstein survivor or associate has ever made a public allegation of wrongdoing or inappropriate behavior by the former president in connection with his prior relationship with Epstein.
Former Secretary of State Clinton “has no personal knowledge of Epstein or Maxwell’s criminal activities, never flew on his aircraft, never visited his island, and cannot recall ever speaking to Epstein. She has no personal knowledge of Maxwell’s activities with Epstein,” Kendall wrote. “President Clinton’s contact with Epstein ended two decades ago, and given what came to light much after, he has expressed regret for even that limited association,” an Oct. 6 letter to the committee says.
Comer wrote in a letter to Kendall in October that the committee is “skeptical” that the Clintons have only limited information and stated it was up to the committee, not the Clintons, to make determinations of the value of the information.
“[T]he Committee believes that it should be provided in a deposition setting, where the Committee can best assess its breadth and value,” Comer wrote.
Last month, in response to the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the Justice Department released several photographs of former President Clinton apparently taken during his international travels with Epstein and Maxwell from 2002 to 2003, although the released photographs contained no information identifying when or where they were taken. Following that disclosure, a spokesperson for the two-term Democratic president argued that the Trump administration released those images to shield the Trump White House “from what comes next, or from what they’ll try to hide forever.”
“So, they can release as many grainy 20-plus-year-old photos as they want, but this isn’t about Bill Clinton. Never has, never will be,” Clinton’s spokesperson Angel Ureña wrote on X Dec. 22.
Ureña did not respond to an email inquiry from ABC News on Monday.
What is contempt of Congress?
The House of Representatives can hold an individual “in contempt” if that person refuses to testify or comply with a subpoena. The contempt authority is considered an implied power of Congress.
“Congress’s contempt power is the means by which Congress responds to certain acts that in its view obstruct the legislative process. Contempt may be used either to coerce compliance, to punish the contemnor, and/or to remove the obstruction,” according to a report from the Congressional Research Service.
Any person summoned as a congressional witness who refuses to comply can face a misdemeanor charge that carries a fine of up to $100,000 and up to a year in prison if that person is eventually found guilty.
What would the process look like?
To hold someone in contempt of Congress, the Oversight Committee would first mark up and then vote to advance the contempt resolution. Once the committee approves the resolution, which is expected given the GOP majority, the resolution now could go to a vote in the full House.
A simple majority is needed to clear a contempt resolution on the floor. Notably, it does not require passage in the Senate.
The resolution, if passed, would direct the speaker of the House to refer the case to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia — under the Department of Justice — for possible criminal prosecution.
History of contempt
Congress has held Cabinet officials in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a House subpoena, including Attorney General William Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in 2019 and then-Attorney General Eric Holder in 2012. The DOJ never prosecuted them even though the House voted to hold them in contempt.
The House held Peter Navarro, a former top trade adviser in the Trump administration, in contempt of Congress in 2022 for defying a subpoena to provide records and testimony to the now-defunct House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Navarro was sentenced to jail time.
Steve Bannon, a Trump ally, was also held in contempt of Congress in 2022 for not complying with the Jan. 6 select committee. Bannon was also sentenced to prison time.
The GOP-led House voted to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress in 2024 over the DOJ failing to provide audio of then-President Joe Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur. The DOJ did not prosecute the case, but the audio was released.
