Publication

Senator John McCain casts a long shadow when it comes to crafting US defense budgets. This brief analyzes McCain’s recently released white paper, “Restoring American Power,” which aims to shape the FY2018 budget and beyond. If the influential senator gets his way, America will spend $640 billion on, among other things, 1) expanding the Army to about 510,000 soldiers; 2) adding destroyers, Virginia-class attack submarines, amphibious ships, and more F/A-18s to the Navy; and 3) allocating $42 billion for the Air Force to develop and field new aircraft.