Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., on Thursday called for tens of billions of dollars more in defense spending during a formal address following a recent meeting with President Trump about the administration’s order for cuts.
Congress should remove Budget Control Act caps on the defense budget next year and consider boosting funding by 3-5 percent over inflation for years to come, Inhofe said during his appearance the National Defense University at Fort McNair.
Inhofe, who became the Senate Armed Services chairman after John McCain died in August, has been one of Trump’s most ardent supporters in the Senate. But he’s now the main opponent in the chamber of the president’s plan to slash the defense budget by 5 percent next year, from $733 billion to $700 billion — part of the White House’s push for similar cuts in all government departments and agencies.
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“What we are proposing is to remove those areas that affect the military from the restrictions that we have, the BCA caps,” said Inhofe, who was making his first formal budget address as chairman. “I’m a conservative and I’ve always been ranked in the top three conservative members of the Senate and the House before that. But I’ve always made the exception in those two areas: Defending America and the infrastructure.”
Inhofe and Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, the House Armed Services chairman, met on Tuesday with Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and national security adviser John Bolton to discuss the ordered cuts.
Both lawmakers argued in an op-ed last week that the 5 percent cut would be dangerous and would degrade the military after two years of budget hikes aimed at rebuilding.
