Trump, Hegseth lean on GOP to move defense dollars

President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are in a full court press to sell GOP lawmakers on a massive funding injection for the Pentagon’s budget.

Hegseth this past week spoke with senior House Republicans in at least two separate conversations to discuss military spending, with the most recent taking place Thursday at the Pentagon. And Trump called on Congress Wednesday night to approve $350 billion in defense funding as part of a third reconciliation bill — a path that would allow Republicans to sidestep the required 60 votes needed to pass regular spending bills in the Senate.

The stepped-up messaging reveals a tense dispute over how to reach Trump’s desired $1.5 trillion defense budget, with some Senate Republicans and virtually all Democrats in no mood to back a massive budget reconciliation bill for the Pentagon amid strong public disapproval of the war with Iran.

The president hopes to get to that historic figure through a $1.15 trillion base budget and $350 billion pushed through in the reconciliation legislation. 

Also in the mix is an expected supplemental funding request from the White House to backfill depleted munitions used in the U.S. air campaign against Iran and maintain military readiness. The Trump administration initially signaled it would need $200 billion for that effort before the officials reportedly decided to scale it back to an expected $80 billion to $100 billion.

Hegseth on Tuesday reportedly told top congressional defense hawks, including House Armed Services Committee Chair Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), that the Pentagon hoped to “fill the hole” created by U.S. operations in Iran and Venezuela via a supplemental.

That request has not been sent by the White House to Congress, even though House Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) last month said the Pentagon would need it by August.

Hegseth also during a Thursday morning meeting at the Pentagon with senior House Republicans, including........

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