DOD budget hearing set for day prior to budget release

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley are slated to testify Thursday on Capitol Hill about the Pentagon's fiscal year 2022 budget request, even though the actual budget won't be released until Friday.

John Kirby, the Pentagon's chief spokesman, said today he believes Austin and Milley will still have "plenty to talk about" with lawmakers on the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, despite being unable to take questions about specific spending proposals.

"While they won't be able to get into too many specifics with respect to actual line items, there's certainly enough of a broad take on budgetary requirements and the budgetary direction they will be able to address just in terms of the sorts of capabilities and operational concepts we're going to be pursuing," Kirby said during a Pentagon press conference.

The timing of the hearing is "just the way the schedule played out" with the subcommittee and the White House Office of Management and Budget, Kirby said.

Kirby said it is up to lawmakers to decide if a "remedial hearing" will be necessary after the budget is released.

The Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee has set June 17 for its defense budget hearing.

Meanwhile, the May 28 budget rollout will be the latest in U.S. history, a record previous held by the Trump administration, which released its first budget May 23, 2017.

The White has already set a $753 billion topline for total defense spending, which includes $715 billion for the Pentagon.