Mike Rogers makes case for raising defense spending to $1.4 trillion a year

November 210, 2025 – Congressman Mike Rogers (R-Saks) urged raising U.S. defense spending to 5% pf the nation's gross domestic product (GDP). That would effectively raise defense spending from its current level of $1 trillion a year to $1.4 trillion. Rogers is the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee which has oversight over the nation's armed forces.

Rogers made his comments during an address to the Etowah County Republican Party's annual Reagan-Martin Dinner in Gadsden. Over 300 enthusiastic Republican office holders, candidates, donors, and grassroots activists filled The Venue to hear Rogers speak about the need for increased militarization, the explosive growth of the Republican Party in Alabama over the last four decades, and the decision to move Space Command to Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama.

Rogers emphasized the need to "Guarantee peace through strength." "There has never been a situation where weakness invites stability or peace."

Rogers pointed to Russia and China as growing near peer threats that the U.S. must be prepared for.

Rogers said that recent events have shown, "That the world order that we thought was set can be disturbed.

Rogers said the Russian President Vladimir Putin does not want to bring the USSR back, he "wants to reconstitute the Russian Empire."

"Why do we care about Ukraine?" Rogers asked rhetorically. "Ukraine is not in NATO but all the countries around it are. If you think Vladimir Putin will stop with Ukraine you are mistaken. He wants to go straight into Poland or maybe into the little Balkan Countries. Those nations were part of the Russian Empire he wants to reconstitute."

Rogers lamented that we are at the "Lowest level of defense spending as a percentage of GDP since before World War II. There was one other time – during the Clinton administration that it was this low."

"The bad actors know when our defense spending is down," said Rogers. "They (the Russians) are working collaboratively with Iran, China, and North Korea. All four of these nations are aggressive and they are helping each other."

"China is already a global economic power. They want to be a military superpower," said Rogers.

Rogers emphasized the importance of building new nuclear submarines to counter the threat that China presents in the Indo-Pacific region.

President Donald J. Trump (R) and the Air Force Secretary recently announced that Space Command will be moving to Huntsville's Red Stone Arsenal.

"Space Command is a big deal," said Rogers. "The Space Force was created in 2019. Space Command is not Space Force. It is a combat command."

"If we get into a fight the Space Force assets – satellites will be incredibly important if we get into fighting a war," explained Rogers.

"The Space Command had been dormant for about 20 years," explained Rogers. "The Pentagon made it a department in Strategic Command.

It has now been, "Set it up to be its own combat command," said Rogers. "They put in Colorado Springs temporarily. The Air Force held a nationwide competition. Only six states really have a space presence. Those were the primary ones competing."

Alabama originally won the competition.

"Colorado Springs came in fifth in that competition."

But Colorado claimed that politics were involved, which was not true so, "They had another competition. Huntsville came in first. Colorado Springs came in fourth. Florida came in third this time."

"Some of the rascals from Colorado asked for a review by the inspector generals," explained Rogers. The IG report showed that Alabama won the competition. Members of the Colorado delegation then went to then President Joseph R. Biden (D).

"They told him, 'You have to take care of Colorado because you barely won it and you have no chance of winning Alabama,'" Rogers continued. So Biden took Space Command from Alabama overruling the military and ordered that it stay in Colorado.

"That upset me and all of us in the Alabama delegation," said Rogers. "I put a freeze on the money until I had a review to see if it was disruptive to national security."

Ultimately – thanks to the re-election of Trump – Alabama prevailed.

"There are no national security implication which is what Trump's Air Force Secretary said.

"It's 16000 job – good paying jobs," said Rogers. "It has a huge economic impact."

"We are already spending money on moving it," Rogers said of Space Command. "Space Command is going to be here."

These remarks were made on the Wednesday before Rep. Rogers and the rest of the House went back to Washington to "vote to get the government back open."

Mike Rogers represents Alabama's Third Congressional District which includes Etowah County.

Alabama Republican Party Chairman John Wahl also addressed the 300 plus Republicans in attendance.

"For the first time in Alabama we had majority minority districts that elected Republicans – four," said Wahl about the 2024 election where the GOP made significant inroads into the Blackbelt.

Wahl also spoke in tribute to the recently fallen conservative political philosopher Turning Point founder Charlie Kirk.

"Charlie was a great man," said Wahl. "I had the privilege to know him as a friend. The last time we spoke, he talked about his kids. There was never a father who loved his kids as much as Charlie Kirk."

"When you take God our of schools you leave a hole," said Wahl. "Our young people are struggling to fill that hole."

Wahl said that he has studied great communicators.

"The gold standard for me is Ronald Reagan," said Wahl. "He asked are we doing a good enough job of teaching our children?"

Wahl said that we are still having trouble with that.

"He (Reagan) was fighting socialism from without. We are fighting socialism within as we saw in the recent election (of Zohran Mamdani) in New York City."

The Etowah County GOP also honored former State Senator Phil Williams who has been nominated by President Trump to be the new U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama – the largest of the three Alabama districts. Williams is a former Etowah County Republican Party Chairman and recent Rightside Radio host.

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