“RECKLESS WAR”
The request is far smaller than the US$200 billion Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth suggested in March the Pentagon might need for the war, which began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February.
The funding request is expected to face a difficult path in Congress, where most Democrats oppose the war and some Republicans have begun questioning its cost, objectives and prospects for ending it.
In the Senate, major spending legislation typically needs 60 votes to advance, meaning Trump would need Democratic support unless Republicans find another legislative route.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer accused Trump of seeking more money after dragging the country into a “reckless war”.
Senator Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said Trump had launched the war without congressional authorisation or broad public support and was now asking taxpayers “to pick up the tab”.
The request also includes more than US$11 billion in farm aid, after farmers were hit by trade disruptions and economic fallout tied partly to Trump’s tariff policies.
Other items include US$1.4 billion to respond to Ebola outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and elsewhere, US$1 billion for the renovation of Penn Station in New York and US$500 million for restoration and construction projects in Washington.
Republicans have already given the Pentagon US$150 billion in new funding through Trump’s major tax and spending law, passed last year without Democratic support.
Some conservatives have nevertheless questioned whether the Defense Department needs still more money, while vulnerable Republicans face the prospect of voting to fund an unpopular war months before November’s midterm elections.
Discover more from PressNewsAgency
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.