WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson will try to advance a Republican-only $95 billion budget proposal Wednesday, a long-shot effort to fund the Iran war and other White House priorities over Democratic objections as a GOP priority before the midterm elections. House Republicans are divided over the plan, with conservatives wary because there are no offsetting budget cuts. But the GOP leadership is pushing ahead, viewing the go-it-alone process as the best chance to usher President Donald Trump’s priorities through the split Congress, despite skepticism in the Senate. “Just bullets and bombs to finish the job,” said Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, the chairman of the Budget Committee.Democrats argued the money should be spent at home, particularly on efforts to lower costs for Americans.“Republicans plan to spend tens of billions of dollars on Trump’s failed war in Iran,” said Rep. Pete Aguilar of California, chairman of the House Democratic caucus, this week. “Think about what we could spend with these resources instead.”
The Congress is at a standstill over the U.S. war against Iran — unable to stop Trump’s military strikes, but not having authorized the use of American military force — and politically torn over having to provide billions of taxpayer dollars to pay for it. Most Americans disapprove of Trump’s Iran strategy, according to a recent AP-NORC poll. The budget battle comes as Trump attended the dignified transfer of four service members killed in the Middle East, bringing the military death toll to 18. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told senators at a fiery hearing this week that the Pentagon is running short of cash, despite a massive $150 billion one-time allotment in last year’s big budget bill.
