Rep. Gallego, a member of the Progressive Caucus, took donations from weapons manufacturers and Israel lobbying groups. (via Sludge donnydonny)
Spending on the Department of Defense makes up about 13% of the federal budget and accounts for about half of the discretionary spending that Congress doles out each year. In 2023, Congress passed a record large Pentagon budget authorization of $858 billion. Many progressives believe that reducing the Defense Department’s budget is essential for freeing up funding that could be used for things like infrastructure investments, education programs, and subsidized child care.
It’s unclear why Gallego opposed the amendments to reduce the Pentagon’s budget — his campaign did not reply to a request for comment — but a review of his campaign fundraising history reveals the votes were in line with the financial interests of some of his biggest donors. Gallego’s top corporate PAC donor over the course of his congressional career has been Honeywell International, a North Carolina-based multi-industry conglomerate that is among the largest U.S. defense contractors. Honeywell’s PAC has donated $74,000 to Gallego’s campaign and leadership PAC, according to Federal Election Commission records. In 2020, Honeywell was awarded a Department of Defensefor production, sustainment and engineering services in support of a new Air Force navigation system.
Another of Gallego’s biggest donors is Raytheon, the company that pulls in the second most revenue from Defense contracts, according to. Raytheon’s PAC has given Gallego’s campaign and leadership PAC $41,500. Other large defense contractors whose PACs have made substantial donations to Gallego include Northrop Grumman . General Atomics , and General Dynamic . Since 2015, Gallego has received $267,000 from various defense company PACs, according to OpenSecrets.
While Gallego hasn’t voted to reduce the Pentagon budget, in multiple years he got language added to the National Defense Authorization Act that requires the U.S. to retain a minimum level of troops in certain foreign countries. In 2018, Gallego introducedto the NDAA that was adopted requiring that U.S. active duty forces in South Korea not fall below 22,000 troops without a certification by the Secretary of Defense. The next year, he secured an increase of that number to 28,500 American troops.
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