Republican senators aim to bypass defense spending caps through supplemental measure
Emily Jacobs Mabinty Quarshie
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Senate Republicans are aiming to bypass defense spending cuts in the debt limit deal, which caps spending over the next two fiscal years, through a supplemental defense bill that would ostensibly increase funding for Ukraine but would actually lead to more national security spending overall.
The Republican-led House passed the Fiscal Responsibility Act in a 314-117 bipartisan vote Wednesday evening that saw House Freedom Caucus members vote against the bill, which was brokered by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and President Joe Biden over the Memorial Day weekend.
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But defense hawks in the Senate are furious that the legislation caps defense spending in fiscal 2024 at $886 billion, a roughly 3% increase from current levels, and caps fiscal 2025 defense spending at $895 billion, a 1% increase. They are now attempting to gain more funding for the Pentagon by forcing Senate leaders to agree to a supplemental measure in exchange for fast-tracking the debt limit legislation through the Democratic-controlled Senate, where a single member can hold up legislation.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is leading the charge and is backed by several other GOP senators who view the defense caps adjusted for inflation as a defense cut and a Republican failure. They are pushing for amendments to the debt limit that increase national security funding, which will give the U.S. help in pushing back against China’s growing global influence. Without the supplemental, Graham and other Republicans have stressed, they won’t vote for the debt limit deal.
“This proposal is wholly inadequate in terms of defense,” said Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) on Thursday. “I mean, to embrace President Biden’s defense budget and argue that defense is fully funded is comical at best. It’s just not true. And there’s a lot of angst over that and there should be.”
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), the top Senate Armed Services Committee Republican, also called for assurances on defense spending Thursday, telling reporters, “I really think the more important thing is assurances by [Senate Majority Leader Chuck] Schumer (R-NY) that this is not the end of the discussion on funding national security because if these numbers stick, then we’ve done a great disservice to our servicemen and women in readiness around the globe.”
Specifically, Wicker wanted Schumer to give his assurance on the record on the Senate floor.
Four senators told the Washington Examiner that Graham is working behind the scenes to secure assurances from Senate leadership that they’ll bring a supplemental defense package up for a vote. Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) have yet to say if they’ll allow such a measure to move forward.
Yet, Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) separately predicted to the Washington Examiner that Graham would eventually succeed in getting a supplemental brought to the floor, at the very least to ensure funding for Ukraine, if not to boost the entire Pentagon budget.
There were some senators who expressed hesitation. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), who plans to vote for the debt limit agreement, expressed interest in the idea of an additional bill to the Washington Examiner, though he declined to officially endorse Graham’s supplemental without knowing details.
“Well it depends on what would be in the supplemental, but I’m very much in favor of supporting Ukraine and providing funding as necessary for their effort to push back the Russian aggression,” Romney said.
“There’s a lot of work being done on [a defense supplemental], and that might help with some of the folks that have some of the concerns on the military aspects of it,” Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) told the Washington Examiner on Thursday. “I can’t say for sure whether it is or is not going to happen, but I can tell you there’s a lot of work being done on it.”
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Democrats will likely protest any backdoor opening to goose up Pentagon spending, though they have said they support increasing funding for Ukraine.
Schumer made it clear on Wednesday that he will keep the Senate in session for as long as it takes to send a bill to Biden’s desk before Monday, the day the nation could default on its bills. “We can’t send anything back to the House. That would risk default.”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) concurred with Schumer when speaking to the Washington Examiner on Wednesday about the fate of the bill, saying, “I don’t know whether there will be amendments, though I’m hoping none of them will be adopted because it will mean sending it back to the House.”