We tried ‘fighting China’ with lower budgets. It didn’t go well.

By month’s end, Congressional leaders expect the Trump administration to release a “skinny budget” containing topline spending amounts for the Defense Department. Though specifics will come later, the choices that shape this fiscal 2026 skinny budget will set policy direction for the next four years.This first budget submission will surely reflect the administration’s interim strategic guidance, which reportedly downgrades Europe relative to Asia. It will also showcase th