Hegseth: We must spend big on defense to save Americas economic might

Urgency, speed, efficiency, competition and lethality: These are the new guiding principles of our War Department.This moment requires defense hawks and fiscal hawks to pull together, and I’m proud to call myself both.Our growing national debt is indeed a threat.That’s evident to me as a taxpayer and as a Cabinet secretary — so, unlike Pentagons of the past,  we’re leading the way on fiscal discipline, spending taxpayer dollars wisely.Yet the single greatest threat to America’s national security today is under-investment in military spending.If America loses its unquestioned military edge, no amount of fiscal austerity can maintain this nation’s economic health.That’s why President Donald Trump’s proposed $1.5 trillion fiscal year 2027 defense budget, a generational investment in cutting-edge military advantage, is my department’s No.1 priority.Our job, in conjunction with Congress, is to stop at nothing — between the base budget, a supplemental request and a reconciliation package — to ensure we deliver on the commander-in-chief’s vision for American defense dominance: a common-sense, America First military.The future of America’s economic and fiscal health depends on it.The American people can be forgiven for taking the military aspect of our economic engine for granted.For decades the Pentagon has quietly underwritten the foundation of American prosperity — from the dominance of the US dollar to the stability of borrowing costs to the protection of global trade.It’s not the Treasury Department alone that keeps the dollar stable, it’s also the US Air Force.It’s not the Federal Reserve alone that determines interest rates, it’s also the US Marine Corps.It’s not the Commerce Department alone that maintains free trade, it’s also the US Navy.It’s prosperity through strength, and the economic consequences of having the world’s strongest military safeguard economic stability, predictability and American advantage are almost ...