Colossal Rebuilding of the Military
Rebuilt the military and created the Sixth Branch, the United States Space Force.
- Completely rebuilt the United States military with over $2.2 trillion in defense spending, including $738 billion for 2020.
- Secured three pay raises for our service members and their families, including the largest raise in a decade.
- Established the Space Force, the first new branch of the United States Armed Forces since 1947.
- Modernized and recapitalized our nuclear forces and missile defenses to ensure they continue to serve as a strong deterrent.
- Upgraded our cyber defenses by elevating the Cyber Command into a major warfighting command and by reducing burdensome procedural restrictions on cyber operations.
- Vetoed the FY21 National Defense Authorization Act, which failed to protect our national security, disrespected the history of our veterans and military, and contradicted our efforts to put America first.
Defeated terrorists, held leaders accountable for malign actions, and bolstered peace around the world.
- Defeated 100 percent of ISIS’ territorial caliphate in Iraq and Syria.
- Freed nearly 8 million civilians from ISIS’ bloodthirsty control, and liberated Mosul, Raqqa, and the final ISIS foothold of Baghuz.
- Killed the leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and eliminated the world’s top terrorist, Qasem Soleimani.
- Created the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center (TFTC) in partnership between the United States and its Gulf partners to combat extremist ideology and threats, and target terrorist financial networks, including over 60 terrorist individuals and entities spanning the globe.
- Twice took decisive military action against the Assad regime in Syria for the barbaric use of chemical weapons against innocent civilians, including a successful 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles strike.
- Authorized sanctions against bad actors tied to Syria’s chemical weapons program.
- Negotiated an extended ceasefire with Turkey in northeast Syria.
Addressed gaps in American’s defense-industrial base, providing much-needed updates to improve the safety of our country.
- Protected America’s defense-industrial base, directing the first whole-of-government assessment of our manufacturing and defense supply chains since the 1950s.
- Took decisive steps to secure our information and communications technology and services supply chain, including unsafe mobile applications.
- Completed several multi-year nuclear material removal campaigns, securing over 1,000 kilograms of highly enriched uranium and significantly reducing global nuclear threats.
- Signed an executive order directing Federal agencies to work together to diminish the capability of foreign adversaries to target our critical electric infrastructure.
- Established a whole-of-government strategy addressing the threat posed by China’s malign efforts targeting the United States taxpayer-funded research and development ecosystem.
- Advanced missile defense capabilities and regional alliances.
- Bolstered the ability of our allies and partners to defend themselves through the sale of aid and military equipment.
- Signed the largest arms deal ever, worth nearly $110 billion, with Saudi Arabia.
Serving and Protecting Our Veterans
Reformed the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to improve care, choice, and employee accountability.
- Signed and implemented the VA Mission Act, which made permanent Veterans CHOICE, revolutionized the VA community care system, and delivered quality care closer to home for Veterans.
- The number of Veterans who say they trust VA services has increased 19 percent to a record 91 percent, an all-time high.
- Offered same-day emergency mental health care at every VA medical facility, and secured $9.5 billion for mental health services in 2020.
- Signed the VA Choice and Quality Employment Act of 2017, which ensured that veterans could continue to see the doctor of their choice and wouldn’t have to wait for care.
- During the Trump Administration, millions of veterans have been able to choose a private doctor in their communities.
- Expanded Veterans’ ability to access telehealth services, including through the “Anywhere to Anywhere” VA healthcare initiative leading to a 1000 percent increase in usage during COVID-19.
- Signed the Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act and removed thousands of VA workers who failed to give our Vets the care they have so richly deserve.
- Signed the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017 and improved the efficiency of the VA, setting record numbers of appeals decisions.
- Modernized medical records to begin a seamless transition from the Department of Defense to the VA.
- Launched a new tool that provides Veterans with online access to average wait times and quality-of-care data.
- The promised White House VA Hotline has fielded hundreds of thousands of calls.
- Formed the PREVENTS Task Force to fight the tragedy of Veteran suicide.
Decreased veteran homelessness, improved education benefits, and achieved record-low veteran unemployment.
- Signed and implemented the Forever GI Bill, allowing Veterans to use their benefits to get an education at any point in their lives.
- Eliminated every penny of Federal student loan debt owed by American veterans who are completely and permanently disabled.
- Compared to 2009, 49 percent fewer veterans experienced homelessness nationwide during 2019.
- Signed and implemented the HAVEN Act to ensure that Veterans who’ve declared bankruptcy don’t lose their disability payments.
- Helped hundreds of thousands of military service members make the transition from the military to the civilian workforce, and developed programs to support the employment of military spouses.
- Placed nearly 40,000 homeless veterans into employment through the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program.
- Placed over 600,000 veterans into employment through American Job Center services.
- Enrolled over 500,000 transitioning service members in over 20,000 Department of Labor employment workshops.
- Signed an executive order to help Veterans transition seamlessly into the United States Merchant Marine.