A potential funding request for Donald Trump’s war in Iran could splinter the Republican Party further on an already divisive issue.
Representatives for the party remain divided on whether a funding request would successfully pass through the House should it be formally put forward. Insiders believe as much as $50 billion could be asked of by the Pentagon and the president’s team to push on with the war in Iran. Some hardline Republican representatives would have a hard time passing such a bill, while others believe the alleged GDP growth Trump has overseen in the last year means he has the right to request extra military funding.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), a senior member of the Defense Appropriations subcommittee, said the administration should “not be taking anything for granted” and further funding would be a hard sell to her colleagues.
Speaking to Politico, she said, “If they come to us at the end of the month and say, ‘This is what we want, and basically, deliver the votes’ … it’s not a winning strategy, in my view. You’ve got to start making the case.”
Rep. Ralph Norman says he would “absolutely” approve of a bill requesting funds, but this is contingent on Trump’s economic success.
Norman said, “I don’t like it, but with what this president’s doing with income — the GDP is increasing, the money he’s bringing in for other investments — to handicap him on that, that’s a problem.”
House Budget Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) says the Iran war funding request could see wider assessments made on how budget approvals are brought before the House.
“It’s not just for the current conflict,” Arrington said. “There are things that need to be retooled fundamentally at the Defense Department, and the president’s team is making a really good case for that.”
Another House Republican granted anonymity to speak about the internal back-and-forth in the GOP suggested there is no way of knowing which way the House would vote on a funding request. They said, “It’s not a ‘hell no,’ but it should be offset somehow.”
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