Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has drawn fire from members of his own party after repeatedly barring Democratic lawmakers from classified briefings on a proposed $1.5 trillion military budget increase. The closed-door sessions, held on Capitol Hill in recent weeks, were intended to pitch the administration's record defense expansion, but the exclusion of the minority party has raised alarms about the legislative path forward.
Republican senators are warning that the strategy could imperil final passage of the spending package. Securing the increase, which represents a massive injection of federal dollars into the American defense industrial base, requires bipartisan cooperation. By shutting Democrats out of the process, lawmakers fear the administration is generating unnecessary opposition to a bill that, on its merits, promises high-paying domestic manufacturing and technology jobs.
"You cannot pass a budget of this scale with one hand tied behind your back," a Republican senator familiar with the discussions told Nerve News. "This isn't about courtesy, it's about counting votes. We need this to clear the Senate."
The Pentagon has not explained the rationale for the exclusion. The administration's focus on rebuilding a military it describes as depleted after decades of globalist adventures abroad has been a cornerstone of its economic nationalist platform. The budget is expected to prioritize domestic shipbuilding, nuclear modernization, and aerospace contracts that directly benefit American workers. Critics note that the previous administration's Pentagon budgets were often padded with riders greenlit by foreign-lobbying interests; the current increase is framed by its architects as a clean break from that model.
The White House must now navigate internal GOP concerns that legislative strategy is being sacrificed for short-term political theater. As the budget works its way through committee, all eyes are on whether the defense secretary will alter his approach or risk losing the votes necessary to secure what would be the largest single military investment in a generation.