Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., said Tuesday that he aims to remove spending limits on defense next year and leave caps on all other federal funding as the political fight over the Pentagon’s top line heats up.

The Senate Armed Services chairman believes he can get fiscal conservatives on board and peel off Democrat support in the House as he angles to boost defense beyond $733 billion, even while leaving deep cuts in place on the opposition party’s nondefense priorities.