The Trump administration is asking Congress for nearly $88 billion to help cover the costs of the war in Iran and other priorities, beginning what lawmakers have already signaled will be contentious negotiations over the package.
The request, sent in a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) on Wednesday, arrives as many Democrats have already said they will oppose the proposal while protesting the conflict.
Their opposition complicates the budget request’s path in the Senate, where legislation requires 60 votes to advance.
“I will closely review this request in its entirety and ensure we take care of our servicemembers, but I will not rubber stamp tens of billions more for this disastrous war of choice,” Sen. Patty Murray (Washington), the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said in a statement.
The request mostly includes money for the Pentagon, with $67 billion going toward replenishing the military’s stocks of munitions and the cost of sending so many forces to the Middle East during the airstrike campaign.
But it also asks for billions of dollars in other priorities; for instance, $1.35 billion to fight the Ebola outbreak in Central Africa and $500 million for the National Park Service to repair the World War II Memorial in D.C., among other restoration projects.
Lawmakers had pleaded with the Pentagon for months to send the details of the supplemental so they could factor the military’s needs into their annual defense bills.
During a hearing with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in May, Rep. Betty McCollum (Minnesota), the top Democrat on the Appropriations subcommittee on defense, said they needed that information before the committee advanced its version of the annual Pentagon budget.
The panel was marking up the legislation Wednesday as the request arrived, with the Pentagon missing the deadline.
Still, Republicans signaled support for the package, calling it necessary to restore America’s military readiness after firing thousands of precision weapons and taxing some of the Pentagon’s premier warships during the campaign.
“Our forces performed their mission with extraordinary precision and professionalism, and we must now ensure they have the resources necessary to replenish critical munitions, sustain readiness, and reinforce the capacity of our military that made such success possible,” said Reps. Tom Cole (Oklahoma) and Ken Calvert (California), the top Republicans on the Appropriations Committee and its defense panel, respectively.
The request also included $10 billion in economic assistance to farmers, an additional $1.1 billion for Florida’s agricultural sector suffering after winter storms, $1 billion to modernize Penn Station in New York City and $1 billion for pensioners impacted by General Motors’ bankruptcy after the Great Recession.
At $88 billion, the final number is far less than the $200 billion the Pentagon initially argued for within the administration. That proposal, which came before the White House’s record $1.5 trillion defense budget, was considered unrealistic by some within the administration, The Washington Post has reported.
In April, The Post reported that the total had been slashed to between $80 billion and $100 billion.
The administration’s overall defense budget request has faced growing opposition in recent weeks as Republicans criticize the White House’s decision to split the package into two bills.
The base budget request of $1.15 trillion has faced immense resistance from Democrats, who argue the total is a wasteful splurge on the Pentagon despite the $40 trillion national debt.
A separate package of $350 billion meant to advance through a process known as reconciliation — requiring only a simple majority vote — has also come under fire as risky and unrealistic.
Some key Senate Republicans have publicly said that they doubt the package — which contains money for Trump priorities from shipbuilding to the Golden Dome missile defense system — and that they don’t think the proposal will survive.
Hegseth has been meeting with Republicans in recent weeks to make the case for the defense budget.
Riley Beggin contributed to this report.
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