The future of President Trump’s requested defense supplemental this year is “bright,” but any new funding is likely to be less than the $30 billion the president wants, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Tuesday.
Graham, who dined with Trump Monday night, said he doubts whether the Defense Department could spend an additional $30 billion before the end of the fiscal year.
“We can use a lot of money for readiness, but probably not $30 billion,” he said.
Trump recently made the request to Congress, and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis came to the Senate in March to push for the spending, which would provide thousands more troops, pilots for the Air Force, aircraft maintenance and upgrades, and more F-35 fighters and C-130 tanker aircraft.
But now the future of the so-called supplemental spending bill is uncertain as Congress works to pass a federal budget for the next five months or face a partial government shutdown at the end of the day on Friday, when the current spending measure expires.
Trump’s $30 billion request or any amount of supplemental defense money would come on top of the annual defense spending through September that lawmakers are now working to pass.
A $578 billion defense appropriations bill has already been passed by the House and could be included in an omnibus spending bill.
Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., a member of Republican leadership, said the appropriations bill would already provide a “significant defense upgrade” and is much more important than Trump’s $30 billion supplemental request.
“Hopefully, we can get some of the supplemental that upgrades defense even further but you don’t want to lose sight of what you’re trying to accomplish,” Blunt said.
However, the appropriations bill alone is unlikely to satisfy defense hawks. Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, has said it must be coupled with a supplemental funding boost.
Members of his committee also supported the appropriations bill under the promise of additional money for the military this year.
