Mattis ‘Optimistic’ Pentagon Will Get Needed Budget from White House, Democrats

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is subtly making a pitch to Congress and President Trump not to cut defense spending. After two years of steep defense spending increases bringing defense spending to $716 billion, Trump has called on all federal agencies to cut spending by 5 percent. For the Defense Department, that would mean dropping from $733 billion to about $700 billion., In addition to that, federal spending caps mandated by the Budget Control Act of 2011 could cut spending levels an additional $50 billion to $80 billion in fiscal 2020.