President Donald Trump apparently thinks about requesting an overall defense budget of approximately $750 billion in 2020.
CNN, citing two anonymous U.S. officials, stated that Trump plans to ask for about $544 billion for the “base” defense budget and another $9 billion for an “emergency” fund, while the rest is for the “Overseas Contingency Operations”, which pays for military operations in countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria.
CNN also added that the overall budget request of $750 billion will serve as a 4.7 percent increase from the 2019 budget.
However, the proposal could face opposition in the Democratic-controlled House.
The White House’s Office of Management and Budget and the Defense Department did not respond to CNN, which also said that Trump will formally do the request next week.
“We won’t have anything for you until Tuesday,” acting chief Pentagon spokesman Charles Summers said last week.
In other national security news, although Washington canceled two large-scale spring war games between the United States and South Korea, reports show that Pyongyang is preparing to launch a missile soon.
According to The Hill, North Korea’s account for the failure differs from Trump’s, a fact that has increased tensions between the countries.
Experts warn that tensions could rise before negotiations move forward.
“I worry a little bit that this could get worse before it gets better because both sides want to try to figure out how to get the other side back to the table,” said Victor Cha, a former official in charge of Korea relations in the George W. Bush administration. “And they may say pressure is the way to do that.”
On Sunday, National security adviser John Bolton said Trump would be “pretty disappointed” should North Korea carry out a nuclear test or a missile launch.
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