- Associated Press - Wednesday, February 1, 2017

WASHINGTON (AP) - Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is ordering a series of new spending plans designed to fulfill President Donald Trump’s promise to expand and upgrade the U.S. military.

Mattis issued a memo, released Wednesday, that calls for an amended 2017 defense budget, as well as a refined 2018 budget proposal and a new, longer-range budget blueprint.

Mattis wrote: “The ultimate objective is to build a larger, more capable, and more lethal joint force.”

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He gave no specifics on spending targets or other details on how much the military would be expanded.

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