Donald Trump admin misses key deadline after handicapping self with $500B ‘head-scratcher’

The White House is running more than two weeks late in finishing its new federal budget plan after President Donald Trump agreed to add $500 billion to military spending.

According to The Washington Post, this decision was made before Pentagon officials had a clear plan for how they would actually use that much extra money.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asked for a massive increase in the military budget — about 50% more than current levels. Trump approved the request last month, even though his own White House budget chief reportedly did not support the idea.

Now, officials at the Pentagon are struggling to figure out how to manage such a large and sudden increase. Sources told the Post that the department is facing what they described as “logistical challenges” of trying to decide where all that additional money should go.

Retired Marine Corps colonel and defense analyst Mark Cancian said the situation is confusing. He called it a “real head-scratcher,” meaning it doesn’t make much sense to him.

Cancian suggested that if the military really had a 50% budget increase, leaders wouldn’t need to worry about cutting or reshuffling existing programs. Instead, they would be focusing on major new investments and expansion plans.

By law, the White House must send its budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year to Congress by the first Monday in February. This year, that deadline was February 2. As of Saturday, the administration was close to three weeks past that deadline.

According to the Post, officials still do not appear close to finalizing a clear plan for how the expanded military budget would be structured.

Some policy experts say this raises bigger concerns about oversight and transparency. Julia Gledhill, a research analyst at the Stimson Center, told the Post that even the current military budget which is around one trillion dollars cmlacks clear public detail about how all the money is being spent. She questioned how lawmakers and officials can make smart decisions about increasing military funding if they don’t fully understand where the existing funds are going.

Overall, the report suggests that while the decision to dramatically boost defense spending has been made, the practical details of how to implement it are still unclear, and the delay is adding pressure as the administration works to complete its overdue budget proposal.