NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) – President Donald Trump plans to speak Thursday at a Virginia shipyard that builds aircraft carriers and submarines. Yesterday’s news of the president’s visit to Newport News came as the White House said it would propose a $54 billion increase in defense spending.Huntington Ingalls Industries spokeswoman Christie Miller confirmed Trump’s visit. She said the president will speak on the soon-to-be completed USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier.The ship is the first in the U.S. Navy’s new carrier class. Sea trials could begin as early as next month.The approximately 10 percent spending increase for the Pentagon would fulfill a Trump campaign promise to build up the military.Trump’s defense budget and spending levels for other domestic agencies will be revealed in a partial submission to Congress next month.
