Defence spending up 5 percent in Donald Trump's 2020 budget

$3.6 billion would be refunded from the 2019 defence budget intended for military construction that was redirected for the wall

President Donald Trump's 2020 budget provides for a five per cent increase in defence spending, notably to finance building his controversial border wall, while slashing funds for diplomacy by 23 percent.

If approved as is military spending would increase to $750 billion for fiscal year 2020, which begins in October 2019. This figure includes $718.3 billion for the Pentagon and $32 billion for the Energy Department to maintain and provide fuel for America's nuclear arsenal.

The proposed budget allocates $66.7 billion for ongoing external operations such as those in Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia and Syria, a three percent decrease from the previous year, according to military officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"Emergency" funds amount to $9.2 billion, $2 billion of which is for reconstruction of hurricane-ravaged military facilities, officials said. The remainder is for the construction of the wall that Trump has pledged to build on the border with Mexico in the south.

Pentagon approves transgender military ban
The Pentagon has signed a directive to implement Trump's policy barring most transgender people from serving in the military, the media reported. Transgender people who join the military after the order takes effect will have to serve in the gender they were assigned at birth. Service secretaries will be allowed to grant waivers on a case-by-case basis.

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