House Republicans on Wednesday unveiled a $95 billion legislative plan that would pour more money into the U.S.-led war against Iran, send aid to farmers, and tighten voter registration rules that Democrats say would suppress turnout. The 47-page outline, called a budget resolution, is built as a sequel to the massive tax and spending cut bill President Donald Trump signed into law 1 year ago, and it carries the same familiar stink: money for the war machine, money for the political class, and new barriers for people trying to vote.
Who Gets the Money
The bulk of the $95 billion would go to the U.S.-led war against Iran, reflecting the White House’s request for supplemental spending to rebuild stockpiles and fund classified programs. The resolution calls for the House Armed Services Committee to craft legislation that will not increase deficits through 2036 by more than $60 billion; the Select Committee on Intelligence, $13 billion; the Agriculture Committee, $12 billion; and the House Administration Committee, $10 billion. That last slice would be used for an election law overhaul that requires people registering to vote to provide proof of citizenship.
House Speaker Mike Johnson pushed ahead after meeting with Trump at the White House this week, and he said the plan would be Republicans’ calling card to voters this fall heading into the midterm elections, with control of Congress at stake. Johnson said in a statement, “Safeguarding American elections and strengthening our national defense are the most basic responsibilities of Congress.” He also welcomed the chance to use a legislative process that would let Republicans overpower Democratic objections and eventually approve legislation on a party-line vote, saying the Democrats won’t be able to block the GOP’s priorities “any longer.”
That’s the machinery at work. The people at the top call it responsibility. The process itself is built to crush objections and move the bill anyway.
Who Pays Below
The plan does not seek any offsets to pay for the new spending. That means the costs don’t disappear; they get pushed down the road, where ordinary people will live with them. Approving extra war funding will be difficult even among Republicans supporting the Iran effort, as the nation confronts staggering annual deficits reaching nearly $2 trillion this year. The plan for defense spending is on par with a request the White House submitted to Congress last month, but it falls far short of the $350 billion increase the White House proposed earlier this year to boost defense resources.
The election piece is just as blunt. Republicans say their focus is on enhancing election integrity, but Democrats say it’s about suppressing voter turnout, particularly among married women, seniors and minorities who don’t have ready access to the documents they would need to present when registering to vote. The House Administration Committee would get $10 billion for that effort, with Republicans seeking to impose strict proof of citizenship requirements in line with provisions of the SAVE America Act, which has been a top Trump priority.
Trump has insisted that Republicans approve the elections overhaul bill, which has passed the House but does not have the votes to overcome the 60-vote threshold in the Senate. So Republicans are looking to get parts of it through the arduous reconciliation process that allows both chambers to pass a bill with a simple majority. The Senate’s higher threshold blocks the full bill, so the party is trying to route around it. Same agenda, different procedural costume.
What They Call Order
The Budget Committee is expected to consider the outline Thursday, ahead of floor action in the House next week. Both the House and the Senate would have to pass the same budget resolution to launch the crafting of the party-line bill, which is politically difficult in a Congress where Republicans hold a narrow majority. Johnson told reporters his goal is for both chambers to pass the budget framework before lawmakers leave Washington for the August recess.
Vice President JD Vance met with House Republicans in the afternoon and said he wanted to give them a message of unity. He said they’ve accomplished a lot, but needed to stick together to get “one very big thing” done. “We’ve got a good piece of legislation to support the troops, support the farmers and get SAVE America Act passed,” Vance said.
The farm aid is aimed at farmers dealing with higher gas and fertilizer prices, and it has become an election year priority for many lawmakers with rural constituencies. But even that addition is unlikely to win Democrats over to what is essentially a Republican-only bill. Democrats are expected to overwhelmingly oppose whatever final product emerges and force Republicans to take votes on scores of difficult amendments.
Rep. Brendan Boyle, the lead Democratic lawmaker on the House Budget Committee, said the GOP’s budget plan would lead to tens of billions of dollars in additional debt to fund what he called the most unpopular war in American history. “I’m going to fight like hell to make sure taxpayer dollars are being used to lower costs and make life better for American families, not to bankroll Trump’s giveaways to billionaires and endless wars overseas,” Boyle said.
Johnson applauded Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, and others on the panel for moving swiftly to tee up the resolution and unlock what would be Republicans’ third reconciliation bill this Congress. Trump’s big tax breaks bill last year and the Homeland Security funding bill this year both passed largely along party lines.
Arrington said several factors contributed to the decision not to offset some of the new spending Republicans will seek. First, the Trump administration’s call for more defense spending was winnowed to just meeting replenishment needs during a time of war. Second, he was concerned that some of the savings generated in last year’s party line bill could be relitigated and stripped out if the Senate Finance Committee had been instructed to find offsets.
Republicans could have tried to work with Democrats to pass more defense spending through the regular budgeting process or through an emergency spending bill, but that would require bipartisan support to get through the Senate. And Democrats likely would have sought commensurate spending increases for non-defense priorities. “There’s no doubt that Democrats would exact a big price,” Arrington said. “… We avoided that, so I would say in this moment, with this scenario, that’s a win.”
That’s the whole arrangement in plain sight: war funding, election restrictions, and a legislative process designed to keep the public at arm’s length while the parties haggle over who gets to steer the machine.