President Donald Trump giveth to defense contractors and he also taketh away. Trump says he wants a major boost in defense spending, which contractors undoubtedly welcome. But he has also ordered a crackdown on executive pay and stock buybacks at the companies that make armaments for the United States.

Trump’s financial threat against defense firms came just “hours before saying he’s decided to substantially increase the defense budget” to $1.5 trillion, said CNN. The U.S. makes the “best military equipment in the world,” the president said in a Truth Social post. But the taxpayer cash that ends up going to defense company stock buybacks comes at the “expense and detriment of investing in plants and equipment.” No executive at those firms should make more than $5 million a year, he said. READ MORE