AINavy FY2026 budget request and shipbuilding shortfalls

Title

Navy FY2026 budget request and shipbuilding shortfalls

Purpose

The Senate Armed Services Committee held this posture hearing to examine the Department of the Navy's Fiscal Year 2026 budget request and Future Years Defense Program, with Secretary of the Navy John Phelan, Acting Chief of Naval Operations Admiral James Kilby, and Marine Corps Commandant General Eric Smith appearing as witnesses. Chairman Wicker used his opening statement to criticize steep cuts to the shipbuilding account and the omission of key ship procurements, while Senator Kaine, sitting in for Senator Reed, raised concerns about the delayed budget submission and the deployment of Marines and National Guard troops to Los Angeles. The transcript excerpt ends before witness testimony begins. Begins at▶ 0:16:54

Who spoke

• Chair Roger Wicker (R-MS)▶ 0:16:54: Congratulated the Navy on recruiting gains, calling this year's numbers the highest in 20 years▶ 0:16:54, and credited a shift away from climate change and DEI policies toward "war fighting"▶ 0:17:25. Criticized the FY2026 shipbuilding account's drop to $20.8 billion from $37 billion the prior year▶ 0:18:44, said the budget omits the customary two new destroyers and relies improperly on reconciliation funds meant to be supplemental▶ 0:19:09; also flagged the omission of Virginia-class submarine procurements, a $4 billion shortfall in the Columbia-class program▶ 0:20:37, the absence of Constellation-class frigates▶ 0:21:19, and continued reliance on the 30-year-old Super Hornet amid F-35 order cuts and FA-XX schedule setbacks▶ 0:22:14.

• Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA)▶ 0:23:46: Said the administration's FY2026 Navy budget request is essentially flat and has become the longest-delayed budget submission in memory▶ 0:23:46; raised the deployment of Marines and National Guard troops for law enforcement operations in Los Angeles, drawing on his experience as a former mayor and governor overseeing Guard deployments▶ 0:24:17▶ 0:24:49, and described the Guard's traditional partnership between the president and governors as being tested by the president's deployment decision▶ 0:25:07▶ 0:25:38.

Key moments

• Wicker said the Navy's shipbuilding account fell to $20.8 billion in FY2026 from $37 billion the previous year▶ 0:18:44.

• Wicker said the budget omits the traditional two-destroyer annual request, breaking a pattern meant to reach the statutorily required 355-ship fleet▶ 0:19:09▶ 0:19:37.

• Wicker said the budget omits Virginia-class submarine procurement and relies on "one boat" funded through reconciliation, jeopardizing a presumed nine-boats-over-five-years plan▶ 0:20:06▶ 0:20:37.

• Wicker said the Columbia-class submarine program is underfunded by $4 billion and depends on unproven incremental funding authorities▶ 0:20:37.

• Wicker noted OMB opposes the Ship Accountability and Workforce Support (SAWS) initiative, which he said would enable building two Virginia-class and one Columbia-class submarine annually▶ 0:20:59▶ 0:21:19.

• Wicker said the budget includes no new Constellation-class frigates, following last year's halt in procurement over design instability▶ 0:21:19▶ 0:21:47.

• Wicker cited the loss of three F/A-18s from a single USS Truman deployment as evidence of operational stress on the fleet, alongside $750 million proposed to jumpstart the FA-XX program▶ 0:22:14▶ 0:22:43.

• Kaine said the administration has yet to deliver the full FY26 budget request, calling it the longest-delayed budget submission in memory, with a Navy budget he understands to be essentially flat▶ 0:23:46.

• Kaine raised the deployment of Marines and National Guard to Los Angeles for law enforcement, citing his own experience requesting the Guard as governor during weather emergencies and public safety incidents▶ 0:24:49.