When Congress reconvenes after next week’s midterm elections, President Donald Trump will likely face a changed landscape, including more Republican lawmakers unwilling to do his bidding.
According to Politico, the warning signs are already showing. GOP defense hawks are telling the president that his Pentagon budget demands are in deep trouble.
“The president will need almost unanimous support from Senate and House Republicans to enact his $1.5 trillion Pentagon budget after the midterm elections, especially if the GOP is about to lose one or both chambers of Congress,” Politico’s Connor O’Brien and Mark Satter are reporting. Trump’s recent stance on Russiaand Ukraine has put that at risk.
With margins so thin, just a “handful of defections” could sink Trump’s entire defense agenda. That leaves hawks in an “unusually powerful position,” and it’s an early sign that some GOP lawmakers are ready to push back, the report notes.
“The administration says they want a supplemental, they want a reconciliation bill, they want funding for the ballroom; and it’s like, I don’t see why we should do it,” said Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), a retiring hawk who has clashed with the administration on national security. “He can’t even see Russia as our adversary … Why do I want to fund his agenda? And I think other people feel the same way.”
Bacon’s broadside followed “a stern warning” this week from Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who chairs the Senate panel that oversees Pentagon funding. In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, McConnell argued that Trump’s priorities hinge on taking a tougher line on Russia.
“Passing this agenda will require working with Republicans who know the difference between the good guys and the bad guys,” McConnell wrote. “Ending the obeisance to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin may be table stakes for the end-of-year legislation. The president should plan accordingly.”
If Republicans lose power next week, they’ll have less than two months to decide whether to pursue more Pentagon funding and round up the votes for it.
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND), a member of the Armed Services Committee, called McConnell’s critique “a positioning statement” ahead of a post-election fight over military spending. But he said the agenda is uncertain until the polls close.
“We need to get past next Tuesday, then put together a reconciliation package that can get 50 yes votes,” Cramer told Politico. “Members will have lots of leverage to shape the bill with the pressure of a campaign behind us.”
McConnell, Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) and other Republicans have predicted for months that a new reconciliation package won’t pass.
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