OPINION — “The [Defense] Division [DoD] will proceed to defend the nation and conduct ongoing navy operations. It is going to proceed actions funded with any obtainable budgetary sources that haven’t lapsed (e.g., funds made obtainable in Pub. L. 119-21), in addition to excepted actions equivalent to these mandatory for the protection of human life and the safety of property. Important actions that can proceed throughout a lapse are summarized on this planning steerage doc. Actions which can be decided to not be excepted, and which can’t be carried out by using navy personnel rather than furloughed civilian personnel, can be suspended when appropriated funds are now not obtainable. The Secretary of Struggle could, at any time, decide that extra actions shall be handled as excepted.”
That could be a quote from the DoD’s September 2025 Contingency Plan Steering For Continuation Of Operations In The Absence Of Out there Appropriations, issued “For Planning Functions Solely – Do Not Implement Till Course from the Deputy Secretary of Struggle or his Designee.”
This doc, it states, “offers steerage for figuring out these missions and features of the Division of Struggle (DoW) that will proceed to be carried out within the absence of accessible appropriations.”
I have to level out, as a result of it’s the rationale I’m scripting this column, that the Public Legislation referred to above, Pub. L. 119-21, is none apart from the so-called One Massive Stunning Invoice Act (OBBBA), handed by Congress July 3, and signed by President Trump into regulation on July 4.
A little bit of historical past: The OBBBA was designed by the Republicans to enact all of Trump’s second-term tax and spending insurance policies in a large, 1,100-page piece of laws. The Congressional Price range Workplace stated the measure would lead to a lower in direct spending of $1.1 trillion, but in addition a lower in revenues of $4.5 trillion, growing the U.S. deficit by $3.4 trillion over the 2025-to-2034 interval.
To get the OBBBA handed, the Trump White Home and Republicans in Congress used the fiscal 2025 funds reconciliation course of, which allowed them to keep away from the 60-vote Senate filibuster. With common Democratic opposition, it handed the Home by a 218-to-214 vote, and the Senate by a 51-to-50 margin, with Vice President J.D. Vance casting the tiebreaking vote.
As I wrote final June, the OBBBA was “extending Trump’s 2017 tax cuts and lowering Medicaid spending – [and] additionally accommodates authorization and appropriation for a further $150 billion for fiscal 2025 protection spending.”
That extra $150 billion for protection spending, as a result of it was thought-about a part of 2025 appropriations, is accessible to be spent throughout the present shutdown and thru 2029, in keeping with the phrases of the OBBBA.
Credit score for anticipating the necessity to put that $150 billion within the 2025 reconciliation measure, and never within the fiscal 2026 funds request, have to be shared by Director of the Workplace of Administration and Price range Russell Vought, White Home Deputy Chief of Employees Stephen Miller, and Republican members of the Home and Senate Armed Companies Committees. Late final April, with out a lot publicity, the Hill Republicans added the $150 billion to the OBBBA reconciliation invoice with White Home assist.
In addition they added one other $170 billion for the Division of Homeland Safety and different companies that I’ll focus on under.
The Cipher Temporary brings expert-level context to nationwide and world safety tales. It’s by no means been extra necessary to grasp what’s taking place on the earth. Improve your entry to unique content material by changing into a subscriber.
Again in June, I wrote that the Congress within the reconciliation invoice referred to as for the Protection Secretary “to ship to the Home and Senate Armed Companies Committees inside 60 days of the invoice passing Congress” a plan detailing how the added $150 billion appropriated to DoD can be spent. Whether or not Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth did or not is unclear.
Nonetheless, DoD’s September 2025 Contingency Plan Steering stated, “As of September 2025, the [Defense] Division considers efforts to the assist the next amongst its highest priorities: Operations to safe the U.S. Southern Border; Center East operations; Golden Dome for America; Depot Upkeep; Shipbuilding; Important Munitions.”
No shock, that part provides, “As in each case, efforts supporting these actions could happen throughout a lapse when resourced with funds that stay obtainable — to incorporate these offered in Pub. L. 119-21,” the OBBBA.
It seems, the OBBBA had a bit entitled, “Enhancing Division of Protection Border Assist and Counter-Drug Missions.” That part offered a further $1 billion for fiscal 2025 for use “for the deployment of navy personnel in assist of border operations, operations and upkeep actions in assist of border operations, counter-narcotics and counter-transnational prison group mission assist.”
The necessity for U.S. southern border cash for DoD was apparent. However again in July, who publicly was pondering of utilizing DoD property for “counter-narcotics and counter-transnational prison group mission assist?” It was not till late August that the general public realized of a U.S. Navy buildup within the southern Caribbean to fight drug trafficking, and the primary so-called Venezuelan narco-boat was destroyed September 2.
But again in early June, it seems, the Trump administration sought and obtained Congress to approve fiscal 2025 funds to finance what have turn out to be these present Caribbean counter-narcotics navy operations within the OBBBA. And the identical phrases, “counter-narcotic and counter-transnational prison group” have been used to explain the targets in justification letters despatched the Congress after narco-boat destructions.
Three different of the “highest precedence” components talked about within the DoD’s September 2025 Contingency Plan Steering have been additionally singled out within the OBBBA for allocation of funds from the additional $150 billion added to fiscal 2025 protection spending.
A piece entitled “Enhancement of Division of Protection Assets for Shipbuilding” was allotted $29 billion. This included $750 million for added provider improvement throughout the naval shipbuilding industrial base; $500 million for superior manufacturing methods within the shipbuilding industrial base; $500 million for added dry-dock functionality; and $450 million for added maritime industrial workforce improvement applications.
One other part for Trump’s Golden Dome missile protection program entitled “Enhancement of Division of Protection Assets for Built-in Air and Missile Protection,” was allotted $25 billion. This included $7.2 billion for the event, procurement, and integration of navy space-based sensors; $5.6 billion for improvement of space-based and enhance section intercept capabilities; $2.55 billion for the event, procurement, and integration of navy missile protection capabilities; and $2.2 billion for acceleration of hypersonic protection techniques.
A 3rd part of the OBBBA entitled “Enhancement of Division of Protection Assets for Munitions and Protection Provide Chain Resiliency,” additionally obtained $25 billion. This included $5 billion for investments in crucial minerals provide chains; one other $2 billion for added actions to enhance the U.S. stockpile of crucial minerals; $1 billion for the creation of next-generation automated munitions manufacturing factories; $688 million for the event, manufacturing, and integration of long-range multi-service cruise missiles; and $300 million for the manufacturing of Military medium-range ballistic missiles.
As I discussed above, there was one other $170 billion for the Division of Homeland Safety added to OBBBA and it’s cash obtainable to be spent throughout the shutdown.
For instance, there was $46.5 billion for components for the brand new border infrastructure and border wall system; $45 billion for single grownup alien detention capability and household residential middle capability; and $6.2 billion for procurement and integration of latest inspection gear to fight the entry or exit of illicit narcotics at ports of entry and alongside the southwest, northern, and maritime borders.
Want a day by day dose of actuality on nationwide and world safety points? Subscriber to The Cipher Temporary’s Nightcap publication, delivering skilled insights on immediately’s occasions – proper to your inbox. Join free immediately.
On the personnel facet, there was $4.1 billion to rent and prepare extra Border Patrol brokers, Workplace of Area Operations officers, Air and Marine brokers, rehired annuitants, and U.S. Customs and Border Safety area assist personnel; and one other $2.1 billion to supply recruitment bonuses, efficiency awards, or annual retention bonuses to eligible Border Patrol brokers, Workplace of Area Operations officers, and Air and Marine brokers.
One other OBBBA provision offered $10 billion “to stay obtainable till September 30, 2029, for reimbursement of prices incurred in enterprise actions in assist of the Division of Homeland Safety’s mission to safeguard the borders of the US.”
Three different gadgets want no clarification.
Within the OBBBA there was $625 million for safety and different prices associated to the 2026 FIFA [Soccer] World Cup, and $1 billion for safety, planning, and different prices associated to the 2028 Olympics.
Lastly, there was $300 million included for the Federal Emergency Administration Company (FEMA) to reimburse state or native regulation enforcement personnel “for defense actions instantly and demonstrably related to any [non-governmental] residence of the President.” That might cowl, at a minimal, Mar-A-Lago in Florida, Bedminster Golf Membership in New Jersey and Trump Tower in New York. In response to one information story, Trump throughout his first 4 years in workplace traveled to his properties practically 550 instances.
Beneath this OBBBA provision, the reimbursement can be obtainable just for prices {that a} state or native company incurred or incurs on or after July 1, 2024; demonstrated to the FEMA Administrator as being in extra of typical regulation enforcement operation prices; and was instantly attributable to Presidential safety requested by the U.S. Secret Service.
One has to confess that Trump and key members of his workers clearly did some advance planning once they put collectively the OBBBA – perhaps they even foresaw a authorities shutdown.
The Cipher Temporary is dedicated to publishing a spread of views on nationwide safety points submitted by deeply skilled nationwide safety professionals.
Opinions expressed are these of the creator and don’t symbolize the views or opinions of The Cipher Temporary.
Have a perspective to share based mostly in your expertise within the nationwide safety area? Ship it to Editor@thecipherbrief.com for publication consideration.
Learn extra expert-driven nationwide safety insights, perspective and evaluation in The Cipher Temporary
