John James finds himself in the middle of the current Republican budget split.
A military man turned business owner, the Michigan Republican running to unseat Democrat Sen. Debbie Stabenow wants to fund the troops and also cut spending. The budget deal passed into law earlier this month does one of those things, it boosts military money but busts the spending caps, and James is uncomfortable.
“I’m torn with you to be honest,” James tells me as he introduces himself to the Republican faithful who have flocked to the Conservative Political Action Conference. “No political B.S.”
“On the one hand, I have friends who are still in [the military], still defending our freedom. They haven’t had a pay raise in years. This sequester has not only hurt our capabilities to defend our nation but it has also hurt businesses in Michigan,” says James, who graduated from West Point before serving eight years as a combat helicopter pilot and later returning to his family business in Detroit.
“At the same time, I understand that we can’t look so shortsighted that we bankrupt our future,” James says before delivering a boilerplate line about bringing military discipline to Capitol Hill. “It’s a very basic requirement that we fund our government within our means and we tighten our belts to make sure we can be prepared for today and tomorrow.”
Fiscal hawks feel the same way and fussed when President Trump signed his first budget. The Heritage Foundation said it was “irresponsible and moves the country in the wrong direction.” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, panned it as “a betrayal of everything limited government conservatism stands for.” And Senate Republicans passed it with Democrat help, 72-18.
But what would James have done? “I am against the Schumer shutdown and I understand looking at the benefits to making sure we fund our military,” James says. “I would’ve voted for it.”
