Trump Seeks $70B for Pentagon

President Trump wants nearly $88 billion more from Congress this year, mostly to bankroll the Iran war, but the Senate looks prepared to say no. The White House's $87.6 billion supplemental request, sent to Capitol Hill on Wednesday, directs about $70 billion to Pentagon operations tied to the conflict, with the rest scattered across domestic and foreign priorities: $11 billion for farmers, $1.4 billion for Ebola response in central Africa, $1 billion for New York City's Penn Station renovation, and $300 million for elevator projects in federal buildings. It also calls for $21 billion for munitions and $4 billion for new satellite-tracking systems, the New York Times reports.

The request was conveyed in a letter from Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought to House Speaker Mike Johnson, per CNBC. House Republican appropriators said they'd review it, but the package appears to have little chance in the Senate, per the Times. It would need 60 votes on that side, and Democrats are overwhelmingly opposed to funding the war. Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, accused the administration of ducking basic questions about war objectives and costs and of using the request to advance unrelated Pentagon spending. The inclusion of projects such as Penn Station's appeared to be an attempt to interest lawmakers from particular regions, per the AP; Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries represent New York.