US defense spending has gone through several cycles since 1997, but the long-term trajectory is upward, according to visualcapitalist.com, which has compiled a ranking of these expenditures, based on official data, showing how the amounts have changed under each president and ruling party. For next year, the United States' proposed defense budget is a record $1.5 trillion. • Steady growth in the 2000s and 2010s In the late 1990s, during President Bill Clinton's term, US defense spending was