Nearly 6 in 10 Americans think the Pentagon's record-breaking budget proposal is too costly, according to a poll conducted earlier this month.
The $1.5 trillion budget would be the largest U.S. military budget since World War II, marking a 42% leap from current funding levels. Meanwhile, the Trump administration wants to slash non-defense spending by 10%, making cuts to homelessness relief and HIV treatment programs, NASA research and other program funds.
The poll, conducted by ReThink Media and the Costs of War Project at Brown University, a nonpartisan research group, found that 40% of Americans think the new budget is "much too high," and another 19% see it as "somewhat too high."
Another 25% of Americans think it is "about right," and 3% think it is "somewhat too low." Less than 1% of people polled said the new budget is "much too low."
Although Democrats accounted for the largest fraction of voters who thought the Pentagon budget was too high – 87% – a majority of independents also felt the same way – 54%, according to the poll. Around three in 10 Republicans felt the same way, compared with 44% who said it was about right and 7% who said it was too low.
