White House to submit budget on March 11

The White House intends to submit its fiscal year 2025 spending request to Congress on March 11, according to the Office of Management and Budget.

The budget submission will follow President Biden’s March 7 State of the Union address and will come days after two government shutdown deadlines put in place by Congress, which is still struggling to pass FY-24 appropriations bills.

The FY-25 total defense topline, according to the Fiscal Responsibility Act inked last fall, will be capped at $895 billion, up from $886 billion in FY-24.

Presidents are required by law to submit their annual budget proposals the first Monday of February, but the deadline is often missed and there is no penalty for missing it.

Meanwhile, the White House has been trying for months to get Congress to pass a security supplemental spending package of more than $100 billion that includes aid for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and border security. Hill staffers said the text of a proposed bipartisan supplemental would be released this weekend.

The Pentagon, along with the rest of the federal government, is running internal “drills” to take a 1% budget cut because -- as mandated by the FRA agreement -- it began the year under a stopgap continuing resolution. Congress has until April, however, to stop the automatic sequester, which many defense budget analysts expect will be part of an upcoming budget deal.