# National Defense **OMB budget function 050** — the military budget: the [[Department of Defense]] (military programs) plus the nuclear-weapons activities of the Energy Department (NNSA) and other defense-related work. **~$916.6B in FY2025** (up from $874B FY2024, $820.7B FY2023, $766.7B FY2022) — the largest *discretionary* line by far, and the fifth-largest function overall. For the deeper political-economy analysis of the contractor ecosystem, see [[Defense Spending Landscape]]; this page is the budget-line view. ## The two structural facts 1. **Defense is the budget's biggest discretionary commitment** — roughly half of all [[Discretionary vs Mandatory Spending]] spending runs through function 050. It is the spending conservatives most consistently protect and grow, the mirror image of the means-tested programs they cut. 2. **Interest has passed defense.** As of FY2025, [[Net Interest on the Debt]] ($970B) exceeds national defense ($917B) — the first time the cost of past borrowing outranks the military. A milestone that reframes "we can't afford it" arguments. ## The coming surge The [[Federal Budget FY2027 Request]] asks for a **~27.8% increase** in base defense budget authority (to $1.154T) plus a separate **$350B mandatory defense supplemental** routed through [[Reconciliation]] — partly hiding the increase outside the visible discretionary topline (see [[Outlays vs Budget Authority]]). If enacted, the 050 line breaks decisively above $1 trillion. ## The RWKB angle Defense is the clearest test of revealed priorities: the same fiscal framework that demands [[Medicaid]] work requirements and zeroes out foreign aid (see [[International Affairs]]) treats a 28% defense increase as non-negotiable. The guns-up / domestic-down reallocation is the fiscal signature of [[Project 2025]]. Track the gap between the defense request and what the [[Appropriations Process]] actually enacts. ## Related - [[Defense Spending Landscape]] · [[Department of Defense]] · [[Federal Budget FY2027 Request]] - [[Net Interest on the Debt]] · [[Budget Functions]] · [[Reconciliation]] · [[Budget Hub]]