House Budget Chair Jodey Arrington (R-TX) is eyeing using funds from state and local social programs to pay for President Donald Trump's war in Iran.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently acknowledged that the Pentagon was developing a plan to ask Congress for an additional $200 billion, adding that “that number could move.”
“It takes money to kill bad guys,” he said at the time. “So we’re going back to Congress and our folks there to ensure we’re properly funded for what’s being done, for what we may have to do in the future.”
Democrats largely viewed additional Pentagon funding as a non-starter.
Politico's Meredith Lee Hill reported on Thursday that Arrington was considering jamming the funds through using reconciliation, which Democrats would have difficulty blocking in the Senate.
"Arrington, an RSC member, will oversee advancing the instructions to set up another reconciliation package," Hill said. "He told us yesterday he wants defense money added to a reconciliation bill and paid for with spending cuts across state and social programs."
"He also wants to try again to add cost-sharing reductions for Obamacare," she added.
It wasn't immediately clear which state and local programs would be on the chopping block.