Senate Republicans can’t agree on whether to use their final weeks in power to pass a party-line Pentagon funding bill, Semafor reports.
The party’s remaining tool is budget reconciliation, which lets a bill clear the Senate without Democratic votes. Many Republicans want to use it to give President Donald Trump money to rebuild weapons stockpiles drained by nine months of war with Iran. But senators told Semafor they have no plan yet.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) predicted a plan would emerge, but said that for now he wouldn’t recognize it “if it jumped up and yodeled and bit me in the butt.”
Senate Budget Chair Ron Johnson (R-WI) said neither the White House nor leaders in either chamber have engaged with him, and that any push will have to come from rank-and-file members. Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), who was reelected to his post this week, has repeatedly voiced doubt that the votes exist in either chamber.
Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN) are pressing for a bill. Banks said it’s meant to supply the military, not fund the war. Sen. Rand Paul promised to vote no and said the bill would defy the election results. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) questioned why Republicans would pursue it.
Meanwhile, Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), two senators known for occasionally breaking with the party, have reservations about using reconciliation.
Semafor reports many Republicans see the war as a leading cause of their midterm losses. It says frustration is also growing with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who survived a House impeachment effort on Tuesday.
Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND), who is close to Thune, said a party-line bill would give Republicans bargaining power with Democrats ahead of next month’s funding deadline. Other senators want to add provisions on living costs, elections and farm aid. Sen. Jim Justice (R-WV) said the party is trying to fit too many priorities into one bill, but that he may support it anyway.
Reporter Burgess Everett notes the Senate has just four weeks of session left on its calendar, though Thune is open to adding time, and argues Republicans are already behind.
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