President Donald Trump is moving more firmly into the camp of Washington’s defense hawks with a muscular foreign policy that cuts against the calls from his own base to retreat from the world stage.
Trump has repeatedly worried congressional Republicans with his on-and-off commitment to Ukraine’s war against Russia and entered office taking a decidedly noninterventionist approach to foreign policy.
Yet in recent months, Trump has eased those doubts, supporting military intervention in Iran, Venezuela, and beyond. Most recently, he surprised political observers when he called on Congress to fund a significant increase in defense spending next year.
The White House says there is no conflict between Trump’s embrace of military engagement and his “America First” promises on the campaign trail. In a statement, White House National Security Council communications director Anna Kelly underscored how Trump “has built the largest coalition of Republicans, and Americans, in political history through ‘America First’ domestic and foreign policy.”
“His ‘peace through strength’ agenda has led to better trade deals, a 5% defense spending pledge from NATO allies, eight peace agreements, and more,” Kelly told the Washington Examiner. “It’s indisputable that American leadership is back under this president, and all of his actions have made our country safer and stronger.”
Still, with his emphasis on foreign policy, Trump has upset allies, including ex-Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), along with other GOP colleagues, who are complaining that the president is neglecting domestic priorities.
At the same time, defense hawks have been quick to congratulate Trump on his capture of Maduro.
“Maduro is a thug, and the hemisphere would be safer without this lackey of Iran, Russia, and China in power,” Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said in a statement on X on Jan. 3. “@POTUS has broad constitutional authority and long historical precedent for the limited use of military force, and I’m grateful to the U.S. personnel who carried out orders in harm’s way.”
Meanwhile, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told reporters aboard Air Force One Sunday after the Maduro capture, alongside Trump, to “wait for Cuba.”
“Cuba is a communist dictatorship that’s killed priests and nuns,” he said. “They’ve preyed on their own people. Their days are numbered.”
Amid questions regarding the legal basis of Maduro’s capture and what comes next for Venezuela, defense hawks have also embraced Trump’s announcement this week that he will propose increasing defense spending in next year’s federal budget from $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion, which he contended could be covered by tariff revenue.
“After long and difficult negotiations with Senators, Congressmen, Secretaries, and other Political Representatives, I have determined that, for the Good of our Country, especially in these very troubled and dangerous times, our Military Budget for the year 2027 should not be $1 Trillion Dollars, but rather $1.5 Trillion Dollars,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “This will allow us to build the “Dream Military” that we have long been entitled to and, more importantly, that will keep us SAFE and SECURE, regardless of foe.”
That is not to mention Graham’s own announcement later that day that Trump has “greenlit the bipartisan Russia sanctions bill” that Graham has co-sponsored with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), previewing a vote on it “as early as next week.”
“This will be well-timed, as Ukraine is making concessions for peace and [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is all talk, continuing to kill the innocent,” Graham wrote on X. “This bill would give President Trump tremendous leverage against countries like China, India and Brazil to incentivize them to stop buying the cheap Russian oil that provides the financing for Putin’s bloodbath against Ukraine.”
Former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense of the United States Elaine McCusker argued that Trump’s defense spending announcement “acknowledges the shortfalls in America’s military modernization and readiness that have accumulated due to mostly stagnant and perpetually late funding while operations and threats increase.”
“How the budget request is financed will be important as will timelines to spend the money, particularly as it is paired with a new policy on defense contracting geared toward increasing manufacturing capacity and performance in producing what the military needs,” McCusker, an American Enterprise Institute senior fellow, told the Washington Examiner.
Vandenberg Coalition government affairs director Anne Lord added her effusive support of Trump’s announcement regarding increased defense spending.
“President Trump understands how crucial hard power is to achieving our foreign policy goals,” Lord told the Washington Examiner. “Despite wishful thinking from some who seem stuck in the 1930s, the president has never been an isolationist and knows that confronting our adversaries with strength results in wins for the United States.”
However, although Trump’s decisions have garnered him support from defense hawks, they have simultaneously dredged up now-familiar Republican complaints regarding the president’s campaign promise to put Americans first.
“Trump said we would put America first, and there wouldn’t be regime change, there wouldn’t be interventions, but that’s what’s happening,” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) told reporters this week.
“America First. Not foreign countries,” former Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote on X. “Americans care about good paying jobs, affordable housing, affordable healthcare and health insurance, a good prosperous future for their children, and the ability to live their American dream. It’s really not that complicated. Put Americans first!”
Nevertheless, the White House asserts Trump is putting America first as he tries to leverage his newfound power and influence, amplified in part by his unpredictability, on behalf of the American people.
“All of President Trump’s foreign policy actions are conducted through the lens of ‘America First,’ and he will often speak out on issues of concern that make the world less free, less safe, or less stable,” Kelly told the Washington Examiner last year. “That includes violence against persecuted groups and free speech restrictions that impact American companies. The President will also continue to leverage his dealmaking skills to achieve major deliverables for our country, including fairer trade deals, major investments, defense agreements, and more.”