SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivers a speech aboard the USS George Washington on October 28, 2025 in Yokosuka, Japan.
(Photo by Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images)
Groups Warn Billions More for Pentagon Would Supercharge Trump Authoritarianism
"A military sending armed soldiers into US cities to fight 'the enemy within' at a president's behest is not one to embolden with more funding."
Nov 07, 2025
Nearly two dozen advocacy groups warned Thursday that a Republican-led effort to give President Donald Trump an additional $32 billion in Pentagon funding for the coming fiscal year would enable his administration to accelerate its lawless use of the military, both in US communities and overseas.
"We are seeing the administration intensify its National Guard domestic deployments, an authoritarian move that is plainly designed to clamp down on dissent and chill Americans' First Amendment expression," Public Citizen, Demand Progress, Peace Action, and other organizations wrote in a letter to the top Democrats on the House and Senate Armed Services Committees as lawmakers in both chambers work to hash out differences between their versions of the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
"A military sending armed soldiers into US cities to fight 'the enemy within' at a president's behest is not one to embolden with more funding," the groups added.
The letter also notes that Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are "unconstitutionally and dangerously" using the US military "to carry out assassinations in the Caribbean."
"Providing additional funding to the Pentagon at such a time would be seen as an implicit endorsement of this reckless activity," the groups wrote.
"Hegseth is a key enabler of Trump's authoritarianism, as Pentagon resources are being used in reckless and illegal actions domestically and internationally."
The House version of the NDAA, approved in September in a mostly party-line vote, would authorize $892.6 billion in military spending for the coming fiscal year.
But the Senate-passed version would increase that top line number by just over $32 billion, even as the Pentagon fails to pass an independent audit and remains rife with fraud and abuse.
In a separate letter also backed by Public Citizen, a coalition of advocacy groups called the proposed $32 billion increase in the Senate legislation "fiscally ill-advised and strategically counterproductive."
"Before this year's increases," the groups observed, "the Pentagon budget had already grown by nearly 50% adjusted for inflation since the turn of the 21st Century."
Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen, said in a statement that "Hegseth is a key enabler of Trump's authoritarianism, as Pentagon resources are being used in reckless and illegal actions domestically and internationally."
"Under his leadership, the Pentagon is further entrenching military policing in Americans' daily lives via a National Guard 'rapid response force' and actively attacking international vessels without congressional authorization," said Weissman. "Lavishing Hegseth's Pentagon with $32 billion in extra spending will only fuel Trump's authoritarian agenda. It is particularly galling to consider in the wake of dire cuts to the social safety net imposed by the tax and budget reconciliation bill and Trump administration unilateral action."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Nearly two dozen advocacy groups warned Thursday that a Republican-led effort to give President Donald Trump an additional $32 billion in Pentagon funding for the coming fiscal year would enable his administration to accelerate its lawless use of the military, both in US communities and overseas.
"We are seeing the administration intensify its National Guard domestic deployments, an authoritarian move that is plainly designed to clamp down on dissent and chill Americans' First Amendment expression," Public Citizen, Demand Progress, Peace Action, and other organizations wrote in a letter to the top Democrats on the House and Senate Armed Services Committees as lawmakers in both chambers work to hash out differences between their versions of the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
"A military sending armed soldiers into US cities to fight 'the enemy within' at a president's behest is not one to embolden with more funding," the groups added.
The letter also notes that Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are "unconstitutionally and dangerously" using the US military "to carry out assassinations in the Caribbean."
"Providing additional funding to the Pentagon at such a time would be seen as an implicit endorsement of this reckless activity," the groups wrote.
"Hegseth is a key enabler of Trump's authoritarianism, as Pentagon resources are being used in reckless and illegal actions domestically and internationally."
The House version of the NDAA, approved in September in a mostly party-line vote, would authorize $892.6 billion in military spending for the coming fiscal year.
But the Senate-passed version would increase that top line number by just over $32 billion, even as the Pentagon fails to pass an independent audit and remains rife with fraud and abuse.
In a separate letter also backed by Public Citizen, a coalition of advocacy groups called the proposed $32 billion increase in the Senate legislation "fiscally ill-advised and strategically counterproductive."
"Before this year's increases," the groups observed, "the Pentagon budget had already grown by nearly 50% adjusted for inflation since the turn of the 21st Century."
Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen, said in a statement that "Hegseth is a key enabler of Trump's authoritarianism, as Pentagon resources are being used in reckless and illegal actions domestically and internationally."
"Under his leadership, the Pentagon is further entrenching military policing in Americans' daily lives via a National Guard 'rapid response force' and actively attacking international vessels without congressional authorization," said Weissman. "Lavishing Hegseth's Pentagon with $32 billion in extra spending will only fuel Trump's authoritarian agenda. It is particularly galling to consider in the wake of dire cuts to the social safety net imposed by the tax and budget reconciliation bill and Trump administration unilateral action."
Nearly two dozen advocacy groups warned Thursday that a Republican-led effort to give President Donald Trump an additional $32 billion in Pentagon funding for the coming fiscal year would enable his administration to accelerate its lawless use of the military, both in US communities and overseas.
"We are seeing the administration intensify its National Guard domestic deployments, an authoritarian move that is plainly designed to clamp down on dissent and chill Americans' First Amendment expression," Public Citizen, Demand Progress, Peace Action, and other organizations wrote in a letter to the top Democrats on the House and Senate Armed Services Committees as lawmakers in both chambers work to hash out differences between their versions of the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
"A military sending armed soldiers into US cities to fight 'the enemy within' at a president's behest is not one to embolden with more funding," the groups added.
The letter also notes that Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are "unconstitutionally and dangerously" using the US military "to carry out assassinations in the Caribbean."
"Providing additional funding to the Pentagon at such a time would be seen as an implicit endorsement of this reckless activity," the groups wrote.
"Hegseth is a key enabler of Trump's authoritarianism, as Pentagon resources are being used in reckless and illegal actions domestically and internationally."
The House version of the NDAA, approved in September in a mostly party-line vote, would authorize $892.6 billion in military spending for the coming fiscal year.
But the Senate-passed version would increase that top line number by just over $32 billion, even as the Pentagon fails to pass an independent audit and remains rife with fraud and abuse.
In a separate letter also backed by Public Citizen, a coalition of advocacy groups called the proposed $32 billion increase in the Senate legislation "fiscally ill-advised and strategically counterproductive."
"Before this year's increases," the groups observed, "the Pentagon budget had already grown by nearly 50% adjusted for inflation since the turn of the 21st Century."
Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen, said in a statement that "Hegseth is a key enabler of Trump's authoritarianism, as Pentagon resources are being used in reckless and illegal actions domestically and internationally."
"Under his leadership, the Pentagon is further entrenching military policing in Americans' daily lives via a National Guard 'rapid response force' and actively attacking international vessels without congressional authorization," said Weissman. "Lavishing Hegseth's Pentagon with $32 billion in extra spending will only fuel Trump's authoritarian agenda. It is particularly galling to consider in the wake of dire cuts to the social safety net imposed by the tax and budget reconciliation bill and Trump administration unilateral action."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.