The White House today asked Congress for $87.6 billion in supplemental funding for the Iran war and other programs.
“Most of this request will address urgent needs related to Operation Epic Fury (OEF), in addition to other critical needs such as responding to the Ebola outbreak in Central Africa and supporting hardworking American farmers,” White House budget director Russell Vought wrote in a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson.
About $67 billion would go to the Defense Department, including $21 billion for munitions and $17.3 billion for “operational costs.” Another $11.1 billion would support American farmers, including $10 billion in temporary economic assistance for crops planted in 2026 and $1.1 billion to help the recovery from winter storm-induced damages in Florida.
The request also includes $1.4 billion to respond to the Ebola outbreak in central Africa, and $1 billion for the “final design and construction of a modernized Penn Station in New York City.”
Democrats panned the request, which means it likely can’t pass the Senate, where 60 votes would be needed.
“For months, the administration has failed to answer basic questions about its aims and justification for the Iran war and failed to provide the most basic information about its costs,” Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, said. “It is clear, however, that this request is not merely meant to pay for the president’s disastrous war, but an attempt to secure tens of billions of additional dollars for unrelated Pentagon priorities that should rightly be considered through the annual appropriations process.”
Murray added that President Trump “is telling the American people there’s no money for health care, housing, or child care—but there should be endless taxpayer dollars to fund wars they don’t support.”