Iran War Spending Drains US Military Budgets

The Pentagon is feeling the financial squeeze and is struggling in some cases to carry out routine training and maintenance amid its ongoing operations against Iran, with uniformed military leaders pressing Congress to support additional funding. The Navy’s top officer, Adm. Daryl Caudle, told House Armed Services Committee lawmakers earlier this month that his 2026 budget “didn’t bake in [Operation] Epic Fury” and that the Navy faces impacts on “routine operations” as a result.

That includes having to limit training exercises, flight training hours and training for new recruits, he said. “My record recruiting is going to be thwarted without additional funding to [move] those individuals from boot camp and to pay enlistment and reenlistment bonuses,” Caudle told lawmakers.

The Army’s III Armored Corps, a Texas-based headquarters that oversees roughly 70,000 troops and hundreds of tanks, saw a nearly $292 million cut to its training budget in late April, according to an internal document reviewed by CNN. ABC News was first to report on the cuts. The service’s medical schoolhouse cancelled dozens of courses and eliminated centralized funding for others, according to an April 27 memo also reviewed by CNN. The military is normally required to pull money from specific buckets for specific activities unless Congress grants permission to move money around. Training typically comes from the “Operations and Maintenance” account.

Defense budget expert Todd Harrison of the American Enterprise Institute think tank said that the Operations and Maintenance account is used for everything from training and deployments to fuel, travel, equipment repair, and even to pay for some Pentagon civilian employees. Harrison said that tracking real-time Pentagon budget expenditures from the outside is impossible, but “it’s completely plausible that they are having to make some tradeoffs and do things like cancel unessential travel or cancel training.”

Early in the Iran campaign, Trump administration officials discussed seeking supplemental funding for the military, with some putting the price tag at $200 billion. Administration officials have subsequently said that figure was too high, though they haven’t provided specifics for a request, and there are no signs that Congress is moving towards approving additional funding. The Pentagon’s most recent estimate of the conflict’s cost was approximately $29 billion, acting Pentagon comptroller Jules “Jay” Hurst III told the House Appropriations Committee’s defense subpanel on May 12. But that estimate was based on the cost of munitions and destroyed aircraft and didn’t include construction costs for rebuilding bases, Hurst acknowledged. Sources told CNN in late April that the full estimate is closer to $40-50 billion.

A defense official familiar with the budget issues told CNN that the military typically encounters funding challenges toward the end of the federal fiscal year that ends in September often resulting in a need to ask Congress to move money between spending categories, but that 2026 has seen the issue bubble up months earlier than anticipated due to rising costs and the ongoing operations. Some of the issues the military branches are facing are more a sign of intensifying funding concerns than completely new issues.

Air Force chief Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, who testified to the Senate Armed Services Committee last week, said that the Iran conflict has exacerbated existing readiness troubles. Appropriations lawmakers pressed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on the topic of extra funding during hearings earlier this month, repeatedly urging the Pentagon chief to speed up that process of submitting a request.

“We need to repay those O&M [operations and maintenance] accounts that are going to be used, I suspect, in order to pay for this ongoing operation,” said California GOP Rep. Ken Calvert, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee’s defense subpanel.

According to Harrison, the “hidden cost” of the ongoing conflict will manifest over time as increased wear and tear on equipment leads to increased maintenance problems. He suggested that supplemental funds may also greatly assist in replenishing the Pentagon’s depleted stockpile of both air defense and offensive missiles.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker

Trump Fired All 22 Members of the US Science Funding Board

The Budget Cuts Funding for: Climate, Clean Energy, Woke Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences, and Programs in Low Priority Areas of Science.

That's what Trump's (R) FY2026 Budget Provided as Rationale when He asked for a Budget Cut Exceeding 55% for the National Science Foundation (NSF). Those Cuts didn't End Up going through (2) and He's Now trying Again for FY2027.

In the meantime, Trump just also fired every Member of the National Science Board (NSB), the Advisory Group that Oversees the NSF, with No Explanation. Generally, Congress is Required to Fully Dissolve a Federal Organization, although the Administration has gotten Away with Similar Organization Wide Dismissals.

Without the NSB, it will be Harder for the NSF to Maintain Independence, especially if they're All Replaced by Members, who are Loyal to the Current Administration. Trump has previously said He Hopes to Help the U.S. "achieve global dominance in artificial intelligence". But His moves against the NSF run Counter to those Claims, and could End Up Hurting AI, Quantum and Chip Startups Significantly.

Trump's FY2026 Budget uses the word "Woke" 12 times. The 2027 Budget uses it 34 times. Each time, it's Associated with a Request for a Budget Cut and over Half of the Time, the Budget Cut is aimed at a Program or Organization Associated with Science, Health, and/or Education. It Includes Phrases such as "woke Green New Deal"; "woke climate research"; "woke STEM Programming"; and, of course, "woke social, behavioral and economic sciences."

Trump has used Phrases like "woke" and "DEI" as a Reason to Defund Science since the Start of His Presidency, when He Issued an Executive Order calling for Agencies to "terminate… all DEI, DEIA and 'environmental justice' offices and positions" (9). He's continued to do so throughoutHhis Career.

While Research areas that He considers to be "woke" or "DEI" Suffer most, Researchers have had to Weather Federal Funding cuts across the Board. Competitive NIH Grants are Down by Half for Fiscal 2026 when Compared to the Same Point in Fiscal 2025. In Turn, Competitive Grants in 2025 were Down by 15% Compared to Previous Years. Between January 2025 and February 2026, almost 15,000 STEM and Health Jobs were Cut at Government Agencies Focused on Science. Other Federal Workers didn't see Job Loss at nearly the same Rate.

The NSF Stands Out, even among other Science-based Agencies: It Lost over 40% of its Members in that Time Frame. By Comparison, the Next-Hardest Hit Agency was at the CDC, which Lost over 20% of its Members. Taxes are going to Change under Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bbill’, 4 Reasons why you can’t Afford to Waste Time.

In both of His Federal Budgets, Trump says that He Hopes to Support AI and Quantum Research, in the same Line where He calls for Budget Cuts to the Relevant Organizations. These Losses to the NSF might not be as Clean-Cut as He Imagines. The NSF is Oone of the Biggest Federal Funders of AI and Quantum Research. Between 2018 and 2023, the NSF Funded 18% of Highly-Cited U.S. Articles on those Subjects, Significantly more than any other Federal Agency. Between 2022 and 2025, it Invested over $289 million in Seed Funding across almost 600 AI and Quantum Companies.

The NSF Losing both Members and Funding could make it Harder for these Ccompanies to get the Funding they Need, even if other Research areas Suffer more.

AI isn't Safe from being Targeted by Anti-Woke Measures. In a July 2025 Executive Order titled "Preventing Woke AI in the Federal Government" (12), Trump said that Agency Heads should Not use AI Services that "manipulate responses in favor of ideological dogmas such as DEI."

If the Administration has more Control over what the NSF Funds, then AI Startups might have to Deal with the same Push to Avoid "wokeness" that other Scientific Researchers are Fighting.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker

NASA Picks Blue Origin to Deliver Lunar Rovers

Blue Origin has Secured a Multimillion-Dollar Contract to Deliver Lunar Rovers and other Equipment to the Moon, part of NASA’s Efforts to Construct a Base at the Lunar South Pole for “sustained human presence” by the 2030s, the Agency said Tuesday.

NASA will Pay Blue Origin at least $188 million to Deliver the First Lunar Terrain Vehicles to the Moon, NASA Administrators said. The Agency also Announced Tuesday it had Awarded Contracts to Two Separate Private Aeronautics Companies, $219 million to California-based Astrolab and $220 million to Colorado-based Lunar Outpost, to Develop the Lunar Terrain Vehicles that Blue Origin will Eventually Transport.

Blue Origin is Owned by Jeff Bezos (I), the Amazon Founder who also Owns The Washington Post. The Washington State based Space Company was already Slated to Deliver NASA Payloads to the Moon this Fall as Part of the First of Three Phases of the Moon Base Project, in which Robotic Missions will Explore the Lunar South Pole over the next Three years. NASA Leaders Detailed their Plans for a Moon Base about Six weeks after the Successful Completion of the Artemis II Mission, in which Humans Returned to Lunar Orbit for the First time since 1972. As a Continuation of the Artemis Program, NASA Hopes to Achieve a Lunar Landing in 2028, and Conduct Missions on the Surface of the Moon Annually after that.

“With Moon Base, Artemis astronauts will stay longer, explore farther, and conduct the kinds of science that advances exploration itself,” Lori Glaze, Acting Associate Administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, said at a News Conference Tuesday. “We are building humanity’s first outpost beyond Earth,” She added. “Through Artemis, we are going. And with Moon Base, we’re going to stay.”

By 2029, NASA Plans to have Built more Infrastructure at the Lunar South Pole, including Laying out a Solar Power Grid. By 2032, as part of the Moon Base’s Third Phase, the Agency Plans to have Constructed Semi-Permanent Modules, where Astronauts can Conduct Experiments and Stay for Longer Periods of time.

The Lunar South Pole, where Scientists Plan to Build the Base, Receives Extended Sunlight Compared with other Parts of the Moon, making it more Ideal for Solar Power Generation. Still, it is a Foreboding Environment in which to Plan for any HumanPpresence, “as beautiful as it is hostile,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said 5/26/2026. In Ssunlight, the Surface can Heat to over 250 Degrees Fahrenheit, and in Darkness, it can Drop well below Minus-200 degrees. In Craters that are Permanently Shaded, some of which have Not been Touched by Sunlight for Millions of Years, Temperatures can Fall well Below Mminus-400 Degrees, Isaacman added.

“There is no atmosphere to moderate these extremes, no protection from radiation and solar particle events, and the surface is exposed to meteorite impacts, including the kind of light flashes the Artemis II crew observed from orbit,“ Isaacman said, Detailing the Challenges the Moon Base Project Faces. Still, Scientists see building a Base on the Moon as an Important Step to Eventually Exploring Mars. The Focus of the Moon Base Program between Now and 2029, will be to make sure that even getting to the Surface of the Moon is a “High-Reliability Endeavor,” said Carlos García-Galán, Program Executive for the Moon Base Project.

“Permanent habitation is not just about the asset,” García-Galán said, Referring to the Base itself, “but it’s about the whole chain of logistics that we would need to have set up in place to enable that.” NASA also Aannounced Tuesday, that it had Awarded Firefly Aerospace, a $75 million Contract to Build the Spacecraft that will take Lunar Drones to the Surface of the Moon in 2028. The Drones, which are being Developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, will Survey the Lunar Surface for Potential Landing Sites for Artemis Astronauts in the Future.

The Artemis II Mission was Not only Crucial for its Scientific Advancements, but for Rejuvenating Interest in Lunar Exploration, NASA Officials said. “That curiosity is exactly what NASA is supposed to inspire. It means people are looking up again, believing in big things again, and paying attention as America returns to the moon again, and this time to stay,“ Isaacman said.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker

Trump Proposes Having All Federal Workers Sign NDAs

The White House is Preparing a Government-Wide Nondisclosure Agreement (NDA) aimed at Curtailing Federal Workers’ Sharing of “confidential government information,” as it seeks to Stop Internal Leaks to Media Organizations. The Draft Notice, posted to the Federal Register on Tuesday, by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), says the NDA is intended to Track Existing and New Federal Employees’ Agreement to “safeguard non-public, confidential or proprietary information, created or obtained through their official duties.” The Proposal is Scheduled to be Published on 5/27/2026.

Agencies have the Option of Using the NDA, According to the Draft Notice, which will be Subject to a 30-day Comment Period after it is Published. The Controversial move is the Latest Step in the Trump (R) Administration’s Efforts to Crack Down on the Dissemination of its Internal Planning and Data. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s (R) Office last year, started Mandating that Pentagon Officials Sign NDAs before being Read-In on Projects, Initiatives, and Other Work Products. Trump is also Upending the Federal Workforce, which He sees as an Impediment to Implementing His Agenda.

The Draft cites Federal Workers’ providing the News with “Unauthorized Disclosures” in Advance of the U.S. Raid on Venezuela, earlier 2026. News Organizations Delayed Publishing the Information “to avoid endangering US troops,” the Draft said. The New York Times’ Executive Editor has said the Paper did Not have Verified Details about the Raid to Capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, nor did it Withhold Publishing a Story at the Trump Administration’s Request. A Washington Post Spokesperson Declined to Ccomment, saying the Paper does Not Discuss its Newsgathering Practices.

Also, a Federal Staffer this year, Disclosed the Personal Information, including Names, Addresses, Emails, Phone Numbers and Job Titles, of about 4,500 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Personnel, putting their Safety at Risk, according to the Draft. The Draft Proposal takes a Wide View of Confidential Information, Defining it as “internal agency operations, personnel matters, procurement processes, or any sensitive, pre-decisional or deliberative material that is not currently publicly available and should not be disclosed under applicable law.” Such Disclosures “disrupt agency operations and erode public trust.”

The Measure would Not Create “new substantive restrictions” on Workers and would Preserve the Rights of Whistleblowers, according to the Draft Proposal.

But the Federal Workforce’s Largest Union, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), decried the Draft as an attempt to Silence Staffers, noting the Proposal “sweeps in an extraordinarily broad category of information.”

The Union said it believes the Administration will Push Agencies to Require their Employees to Sign the NDA and then Fire those who Refuse.

“This proposed NDA is another attempt by the administration to purge the civil service of nonpartisan career employees and replace them with loyalists who won’t speak out against waste, fraud, and abuse,” Everett Kelley, AFGE’s National President, said in a Statement. “Federal employees do not surrender their First Amendment rights when they accept federal employment, and the Public has a Right to know about this Administration’s Abuses.

The Federal Government already has Laws and Regulations regarding Disclosing Information to the Public, and Employees receive Training on the Rules, according to the Partnership for Public Service, a Non-Prtisan Group that Focuses on Improving the Federal Government.

The Proposed NDA is another Form of Intimidation, Max Stier, the Organization’s Chief Executive said. He is Concerned the Measure would Prevent Federal Workers from Speaking Out about the Legal and Ethical Violations they see.

“This administration has created an employee base that is already too scared to do the right thing, and this is yet another nail in the coffin of good information getting to the American public,” He said.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker

The 14th Amendment of US Constitution

“[N]either the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the U.S., all such debts, obligations, and claims, shall be held illegal and void.”

That is from the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution, Passed after the Civil War, to bring some Measure of Racial Equality to our Nation’s Laws.

It almost seems like something that would Not need to be Dpelled Out. Of course the Government should Not give Money to Anyone who Fought to Overthrow it.

But the Worry that People who Engaged in Insurrection, would turn around and Demand Compensation was Real enough, that a Rule Prohibiting it did Need to be Written down. In fact, it is One Entire Sentence in an Amendment that is Only Nine Sentences Overall.

In Flagrant Violation of the 14th Amendment, Trump (R) has Concocted a $1.8 billion, Taxpayer Funded Slush Fund for MAGA Loyalists, possibly Including just about Everyone Convicted of Crimes On and Leading Up-To the Attempted coup d’etat carried out in Trump’s Name on 1/6/2021.

Congress Can and Should Prevent the Fund from taking any Money Out of the Treasury, and making Any Payments to Anybody.

In Case Trump’s $1.8 billion Slush Fund for MAGA Crooks, Cronies, and Criminals, begins Disbursing Payments in Defiance of the Law, Congress should Pass Emergency Legislation Imposing a 100% Tax on Any and All Payments Anyone Receives from it.

The 14th Amendment could Not be Clearer: Paying People who Engage in Insurrection against the U.S. would be patently Unconstitutional. Pass the Llegislation, introduced by Representatives John B. Larson (D-CT, 1st District), Mike Thompson (D-CA, 4th District), and Mike Thompson (D-CA, 4th District), Mandating a 100% Tax on Any and All Payouts, from the Trump Regime’s Illegitimate, $1.8 billion MAGA Loyalist Slush Fund.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker

Court Blocks AL Congressional Map

A Three-Judge Panel on 5/26/2026 Blocked Alabama Republicans’ Congressional Map that would’ve given the Party a Potential Pickup Opportunity in the Midterms. The Judges Ruled the Supreme Court’s recent Blockbuster Decision Narrowing the Voting Rights Act, does Not Impact their Finding, that the Map Intentionally Discriminates against Black Voters in Violation of the Constitution.

It means Alabama Cannot use its Design this year, unless Republican Leaders Appeal Directly to the Supreme Court, which they have Vowed to do. “Ultimately, we cannot see our way clear to requiring Alabamians to cast their votes in the 2026 elections under a districting plan tainted by intentional race-based discrimination,” the Ruling Reads.

“And under the unusual circumstances of this case, we conclude that a limited order requiring the Secretary to continue using this Court’s race-blind map will not disrupt Alabama’s elections,” it continued. Under Federal Law, Constitutional Redistricting cases proceed before a special three-judge panel.

Tuesday’s panel included U.S. Circuit Judge Stanley Marcus, an appointee of former President Clinton, along with U.S. District Judges Anna Manasco and Terry Moorer, who were both Appointed by Trump (R).

Their Ruling Forces Alabama to instead use a Court-Ordered Map that Added a Second-Majority Black District. It paved the way for the Election of Rep. Shomari Figures (D-AL, 2nd District), Republicans have looked to Redraw Alabama’s Congressional Lines amid the Mid-Decade Redistricting War that began in Texas.

The Litigation over Alabama’s Congressional Map dates back years, however. In 2023, the Supreme Court Ruled Alabama Republicans’ Original Design that included Only One Majority Black District, likely Violated the Voting Rights Act. The Current Litigation concerns Republicans’ Subsequent Map. It still didn’t Outright Create a Second Majority-Black District and was similarly Blocked.

But now, GOP Leaders in Alabama believe the Supreme Court’s recent Blockbuster Decision on the Voting Rights Act Vindicates itsMmap. The Supreme Court previously Agreed the Three-Jjudge Panel should take another Look. But with them now Ruling that the Map must Remain Blocked, the Ccase is poised to boomerang back to the Justices. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall (R) quickly Vowed to File a Supreme Court Appeal, calling Republicans’ Map a “blandly unobjectionable” design.

“This is a very fluid situation, and I will do my best to keep the people of Alabama apprised of our efforts. Know this, in my mind, it is not a matter of whether we win this case, only when,” Marshall said in a Statement.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker

Putin Closes Moscow Airspace Over Assassination Fears

Vladimir Putin has Closed Moscow Airspace to All Private Planes and Helicopters as Fears of an Assassination attempt Mount. The Area slated for Closed Airspace, up to an Altitude of 16,700ft, is roughly Four times the Size of the United Kingdom.

It Stretches over a Swathe of Central Russia from the Border with Belarus in the West, North to the St. Petersburg Flight Zone, East towards the Urals, and joins an already Restricted area in the South close to the War Zone where Flights have been Banned for Four years.

It also comes amid Increasing Fears of the Ability of Long-Range Ukrainian Unmanned Planes to Strike Moscow. Notices to Airmen are expected Soon, per Orders from Putin’s Transport Ministry. ‘Security services are considering options for unauthorised flights of small aircraft near Moscow and Vladimir Putin’s presence — to eliminate the risk of assassination attempts,’.

Air Defences around Moscow and the Elite Housing Belt close to Putin’s Novo-Ogaryovo Palace to the West of the Capital are being Updated. It will Allow the Military to Treat Low-Level, Non-Scheduled Aircraft as Suspicious without Constantly Checking Private Flight Plans. All Flight Schools and Pilot Training will be Banned, but the Private Jets of favoured Oligarchs are Expected to Continue to Fly.

Putin moved to Close a Large Swathe of Russian Airspace ahead of the Continuation of Air Strikes on Kyiv. The Flight Ban may be a Preventive Measure ahead of any expected Ukrainian Reprisals. Targets will be Volodymyr Zelensky’s Decision-Making Centres and Military-Industrial Facilities, including those Allegedly linked to Nato States.

Putin is facing Internal Increasing Threats to His Power.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker