Trump pushes $350 billion defense funding package in Senate lame-duck session
Summary
- President Trump is pressing Senate Republicans to pass $350 billion in defense funding in the lame-duck session before Democrats take their new midterm majorities.
- A House-passed budget blueprint that includes Iran war funding has stalled in the Senate for nearly four months; it provides only $60 billion for the Pentagon.
- Senate Republicans are divided over whether they have the votes for a party-line reconciliation bill and what it should include.
- Majority Leader John Thune says Republicans must decide by Thanksgiving whether to pursue a reconciliation bill.
- Democratic leaders plan to seek to end the Iran war, possibly by blocking funding as soon as December 2026.
- Republican divisions rather than Senate Democrats have left the House blueprint sitting in the Senate.
Reactions
- Trump posted that 'Republicans must deliver for our Warriors. The Democrats never will. The time is NOW.'
- Senator John Kennedy recommended keeping any reconciliation bill narrowly focused on a couple of items.
- Senate Budget Chair Ron Johnson called Trump's engagement on defense funding good and said the $350 billion request matches what Pentagon officials have said privately.
- House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said the House started the process and hopes the Senate returns to the budget blueprint now that elections are over.
- Speaker Mike Johnson blamed Senate Democrats for obstructing everything and said the Senate needs to do its work.
- Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats will end the Iran war, citing Congress's power over federal spending.
Timeline newest first
President Donald Trump called on Senate Republicans on 12 November 2026 to use their final weeks in power to pass $350 billion in defense spending.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said at a 4 November 2026 news conference in Washington, D.C. that Democrats will end the Iran war using Congress's power of the purse.
Sources newest first
- Trump renews calls for $350B military funding package as GOP faces ticking clock
Politico reports that President Donald Trump pressed Senate Republicans on 12 November 2026 to use their final weeks in power to pass $350 billion in defense spending, posting that "Republicans must deliver for our Warriors. The Democrats never will. The time is NOW." GOP senators remain divided over a party-line spending bill, with Thune saying a decision must come by Thanksgiving as Democrats prepare to take their new midterm majorities.
Schumer: Democrats Will End Iran War
Chuck Schumer, at a Washington, D.C. news conference, said Democrats will end the Iran war, citing the party's new majority and Congress's power over federal spending. He said some Republicans have already joined them and that the Founders gave Congress the power of the purse to deter presidents who wage war without the people's consent.
Background newest first
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