Trump White House requests $87.6bn in spending, including for Iran war

The administration of United States President Donald Trump has requested that Congress approve an additional $87.6bn in spending for causes including the US-Israel war on Iran.

On Wednesday, the Office of Management and Budget, part of the executive branch, formally submitted the funding proposal, with director Russell Vought encouraging the House of Representatives to take it up.

“I urge the Congress to take action on these important and urgent requests as soon as possible,” Vought wrote to House Speaker Mike Johnson.

The majority of the requested funds – roughly $67bn – were earmarked for the Department of Defense to address needs related to the war, including “funding for military personnel and readiness expenses” and “operational costs to rebuild stocks”.

The request is more modest than the $200bn supplemental funding request the Defense Department made earlier in the year.

But it is unclear whether there is political appetite to pass another large spending bill with so little time remaining before November’s midterm elections.

The spending request also falls one day after Congress voted to pass a war powers resolution calling on Trump to halt the US’s military activities against Iran, or else seek the legislature’s approval.

That vote saw four Senate Republicans – Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Rand Paul of Kentucky – cross party lines to vote with Democrats. Two more did not vote on the resolution at all.

The schism in the Republican Party is widely perceived to be a reflection of the broader social divide about the war against Iran. Polls show the war is unpopular among the American public.

Earlier this week, for instance, the research firm Ipsos and the news agency Reuters released a survey finding that only 24 percent of respondents believed the war was worth its cost.

The divisive nature of the war was even on display in Congress on Wednesday, as Trump made a guest appearance at a closed-door luncheon for Senate Republicans.

After Trump attacked the Republicans who backed the war powers resolution, Cassidy reportedly confronted the president and defended his vote.

“I stood and said, ‘You have not told the American people what’s going on,’” Cassidy told reporters after the meeting. “This was supposed to last four weeks. It’s lasted four months. Our original objectives have not been achieved.”

He pledged to continue voting for war powers resolutions until Congress received a full briefing on the US war effort.

Democrats, meanwhile, said they would oppose the White House funding request.

Senator Patty Murray of Washington said the proposal was an “attempt to secure tens of billions of additional dollars for unrelated Pentagon priorities that should rightly be considered through the annual appropriations process”.

“I will closely review this request in its entirety and ensure we take care of our servicemembers, but I will not rubber-stamp tens of billions more for this disastrous war of choice,” she added.

But the funding request did have its backers. Representative Tom Cole of Oklahoma and Representative Ken Calvert of California saw the added military funds as a worthy investment.

“President Trump’s request reflects the reality that our defense strength must be maintained, not merely demonstrated,” they wrote in a joint statement.

Of the amount earmarked for the Defense Department, $21bn was slated for munitions. Another $17.3bn was allocated towards operational costs, and $21.1bn to classified programmes.

That would come in addition to the $150bn Congress approved for the military last year in Trump’s signature tax-and-spending package, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).

But Wednesday’s additional spending proposal also includes other funds and measures that critics say could help incentivise its passage.

The package would include $11.1bn in farm aid, $1.1bn of which would go to Florida farmers who have suffered loss in winter storms. Another $1.4bn would be provided for efforts to respond to Ebola outbreaks in Africa.

Some funds were also set aside for infrastructure and public works.

Under the proposal, $1bn would go to improvements for New York’s iconic Penn Station, and another $500m would be dedicated to restoration and construction in Washington, DC, where Trump has undertaken several projects, including the demolition of the White House’s East Wing.