Progressives slam Biden's 'bloated' proposed Pentagon budget - Fox News

President Biden is getting hammered from both sides of the aisle for his proposed $715 billion defense budget the White House released Friday, with progressives saying that's too much money for the Pentagon while Republicans say the proposal falls way short of defense needs. .

Biden announced the Pentagon spending proposal Friday as part of his broader $1.5 trillion budget request for 2022.

Progressives panned Biden for proposing $715 billion for the Pentagon -- an increase of 1.6% from the 2021 enacted levels of $703.7 billion, according to the budget plan.

Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said the Pentagon boost is "disappointing" when Biden should return to defense spending levels of the Obama Administration. .

Mark Pocan, D-Wis., panned the "unacceptable increase in the Pentagon budget" and said defense spending will have to be cut to get enough Democratic votes to pass the House. .

already spends more on the military than the next 12 nations combined, it is time for us to take a serious look at the massive cost over-runs, the waste and fraud that currently exists at the Pentagon," Sanders, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, said Friday.

In a statement Friday, five leading GOP senators argued Biden's proposed 1.6% increase in Pentagon funds actually amounts to a cut of a few billion dollars because the spending levels won't keep pace with inflation. 

"President Biden’s budget proposal cuts defense spending, sending a terrible signal not only to our adversaries in Beijing and Moscow, but also to our allies and partners," the GOP senators wrote

While the White House proposal boosts defense spending by about 1.6 percent, Biden seeks a 16 percent increase in non-defense spending. The cabinet-level department that would get the biggest boost under Biden's vision would be the Department of Education with a 41 percent increase over 2021 enacted levels