Trump Requests Nearly $88 Billion in Additional Funds Following Conflict With Iran

The Trump administration is requesting nearly $88 billion in additional funding following the more than three month war with Iran. If approved, a majority of those funds would be sent to the Pentagon.Mr. Trump has insisted that the war is over and that the economic pain Americans have been feeling will soon subside, though experts have warned that it could take years for costs to reach pre-war levels, if at all. Now, he is looking to restock America’s munitions supplies, send relief to farmers, and secure American embassies in the Middle East, among other things.“Under President Trump’s leadership, the United States executed a successful operation to deter the threat of a nuclear armed Iranian regime and massively degrade the regime’s ability to project power in the region. Accordingly, the Administration’s request addresses operational costs incurred by the Department of War (DOW) during [the war], including funding for military personnel and readiness expenses, operational costs to rebuild stocks expended by DOW, classified programs, and other key expenses,” the director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russ Vought, wrote in a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson.Mr. Vought says the vast majority of the supplemental funding request — roughly 75 percent — will be sent to the Pentagon for munitions stocks, operational costs, fuel, and other programs. More than $12 billion will be spent on classified programs, Mr. Vought says. In total, the administration is looking for just over $67 billion in additional military spending. It is unclear if Republicans will have the votes to move the bill if it comes to the floor. Lawmakers are due to go on vacation at the end of this week until after July 4, despite pressure from Mr. Trump to stay in town and continue working on his agenda. After America’s 250th birthday, lawmakers will return for just a few weeks before heading out on a six-week recess.The chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Susan Collins, who is locked in a tight re-election battle, previously told the New York Sun that she wanted to move on the supplemental bill as soon as possible. She says that she and her colleagues should focus on that package rather than kick off what could be an ill-fated reconciliation bill effort that would allow Republicans to fund parts of the government with only 50 votes.“I don’t want a third reconciliation bill,” Ms. Collins told the Sun at the time. “I think we should try to move bills through the regular appropriations process, so that includes moving the supplemental.”The top Democrat on the committee, Senator Patty Murray, cast doubt on the idea that the supplemental request would be moved quickly through the Senate. She says there are “a variety of other unrelated priorities” beyond restocking America’s munitions stores.“[N]ow, instead of doing anything to help families get by, he is asking taxpayers the pick up the tab and give him billions more to wage wars overseas,” Ms. Murray said Wednesday. “It is clear … that this request is not merely meant to pay for the president’s disastrous war, but an attempt to secure tens of billions of additional dollars for unrelated Pentagon priorities.”“I will not rubber stamp tens of billions more for this disastrous war of choice,” she said. Senate Democrats do have the power to block the supplemental bill if they so choose, given the 60-vote threshold that is required to end debate.

Trump Requests Nearly $88 Billion in Additional Funds Following Conflict With Iran

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