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🇺🇸🚫💵 The Pentagon is desperate for funds — but key Republicans are skeptical

In a closed-door briefing earlier this month, key Pentagon officials sat down with House spending leaders from both parties to make an urgent case to quickly deliver more cash to fund the US war in Iran.

But when pressed by members of both parties for details, Pentagon officials were unable to offer any meaningful specifics about why they need the money so quickly — frustrating Republicans and Democrats alike, according to two people in the room.

Now, with the Pentagon’s reserves further depleted, the administration is unfurling a full-court press on Republican lawmakers in hopes it can clinch tens of billions of dollars that officials are seeking this summer as the US continues its fight against Iran.

But several GOP members told CNN they still lack critical information about the military’s capacity and needs – and aren’t convinced by what they have heard. Even those Republicans who support the funding push fear that a fraught political gamble in the waning days of summer could lead to a legislative implosion just months before the midterm elections.

For months, defense hawks in Congress have been warning the Pentagon’s munitions and funding have been badly depleted since the beginning of the war in Iran. Lawmakers anticipated they’d need to pass some kind of a supplemental funding package before the end of the fiscal year and congressional leadership has made it clear they want to move swiftly.

“Among the defense people, it’s an emergency that needs to get done,” Rep. Mike Simpson of Idaho said. “They’re going to run out of money in mid-August.”

But the emergency argument isn’t resonating with everyone. Some conservatives have threatened they could vote against the funding because it would simply go on the nation’s credit card. Others argue they aren’t clear why the Pentagon is in such desperate need for money after billions were infused to the Defense Department as part of the last sweeping party-line policy bill.

The House budget committee was able to advance the proposal unveiled by GOP leaders last week, which includes $60 billion for the Pentagon and $13 billion for intelligence agencies. And leadership is confident they can try to bring it to the floor for a vote in the week ahead. But even if Speaker Mike Johnson is able to muscle it through his chamber, GOP senators are expected to make significant changes to the legislation, which also includes grants to finance President Donald Trump’s “SAVE America Act” and billions in aid for farmers.

In the Senate, aides and members argue that the chamber is likely to push for far more money for the Pentagon than the House bill includes. The $73 billion for defense is just a fraction of the original $350 billion the administration floated previously as part of their $1.5 trillion budget request. The smaller number came after conservative members of the budget committee argued they would only be comfortable with a fraction of the $350 billion if the money was not going to be offset.

🔗 https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/the-pentagon-is-desperate-for-funds-but-key-republicans-are-skeptical/ar-AA28hOAy