OMB Director Russell Vought defended the use of reconciliation to pay for $350 billion in defense, saying the move would ensure that funds “aren’t held hostage” during traditional the appropriations process.
President Donald Trump has indicated plans to request $1.5 trillion in defense funding in FY27, but it is unclear whether that sum will stem purely from the base budget.
Government can’t stop to update systems, so modernization has to happen without interruptions.
“Obviously it takes … money to kill bad guys so we're going back to Congress and folks there to ensure that we're properly funded for what's been done, for what we may have to do in the future,” said US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The Trump administration has not disclosed if that figure will be spread between the base budget and supplemental for operations against Iran.
Jules Hurst did not say when lawmakers could expect to receive the funding request, which is said to be over $50 billion.
John Ferrari and Elaine McCusker of AEI argue in this op-ed that Congress needs to act quickly to ensure American national security before getting bogged down in election season.
As threats rapidly evolve, digital engineering, manufacturing capacity and robust supply chains are critical to meeting challenges.
The House is teeing up a series of votes this weekend on separate supplemental spending bills for Israel, Taiwan and Ukraine.