GOP Ties Pentagon Funds to a Tougher Russia Policy

House Republicans are threatening to block at least $350 billion in new Pentagon spending unless President Trump changes course on Russia. They are using military funding as leverage in a fight over sanctions, intelligence sharing and Ukraine. Led on the issue by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the administration wants Congress to approve the money through a partisan reconciliation package during the postelection lame-duck session.

Rep. Don Bacon put the threat plainly: Trump's legislative agenda could fail unless he acts against the Russian war machine instead of feeding it. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick warned there would be "consequences" if the administration didn't restore satellite technologies Ukraine said had been restricted. "Agencies won't get funding if they're not doing their jobs," Fitzpatrick told The Wall Street Journal.

A funding bargain over Russia

The immediate dispute follows Trump's agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin to import Russian diesel to the United States to curb rising fuel costs. Republicans who support Ukraine are also angry over reports that the United States restricted Ukraine's use of strategic satellite systems. They want Russian sanctions restored and satellite limits removed, while the administration seeks a much larger Pentagon budget.

The late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) sponsored legislation Trump signed the previous month to tighten sanctions on Russia and pressure Moscow to reach a peace deal with Ukraine. Trump later waived the sanctions. The article says that decision increased Putin's ability to fund the war and frustrated supporters of the legislation in both parties.

In a letter to Trump, bipartisan lawmakers said the diesel agreement might violate the spirit, if not the letter, of the new Russian sanctions law. They urged him to apply the sanctions "to their fullest extent and without delay" and wrote: "We urge the Administration to revoke this license and not issue further general licenses that reopen Russian energy transactions and restore revenue to the Kremlin's war chest." Five Republicans signed: Reps. Michael McCaul of Texas, Dan Newhouse of Washington, Joe Wilson of South Carolina, Bacon and Fitzpatrick.

Wilson, a co-chair of the House Ukraine Caucus, said: "President Trump supported these robust sanctions championed by the late Senator Graham. I believe implementation of the Graham sanctions passed by Congress and signed by President Trump remains critical to advancing American interests."

Billions for the military apparatus

Hegseth is also seeking approval for Trump's record $1.5 trillion defense budget request. He has called it a "one-time generational investment" tied to Trump's national security priorities. The separate reconciliation package remains stalled over disagreements about how to fund it.

The proposed package includes $17 billion for the Golden Dome homeland missile defense system and $47 billion for expanded munitions production. Of $113 billion designated to bolster the defense industrial base, more than $48 billion is for critical minerals. Another $103 billion is set for low-cost autonomous systems, artificial intelligence and counter-unmanned systems.

Some $14 billion would go toward modernization, sustainment and production of F-35 fighter jets, Boeing B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers, the Navy's next-generation fighter plane and Lockheed Martin KC-130J transport aircraft. The Pentagon also seeks $36 billion for a "Warrior Ethos" category, including investments in housing and facilities for service members.

With Democrats nearly united against Trump's Iran war, GOP leaders would need virtually every House Republican behind the package for it to have a chance of passing the House. Bacon, who is retiring at the end of the term and sits on the House Armed Services Committee, said Trump's Russia policy had alienated enough Republicans to make the funding and other GOP priorities difficult to pass.

Pressure from a Congress in flux

Bacon wrote on X: "The Administration's decision to reduce intel sharing to Ukraine & access to Starlink equates to aiding the invader & the war criminal who bombs cities. Does the Administration think it will get ANY support for the remainder of the 119th Congress? Their agenda is dead unless they change paths."

Some Republicans said the warnings could carry weight: members leaving Congress through retirement or defeat might vote against Trump without fear of political backlash. A House GOP aide said members who wouldn't return might feel "unshackled from their responsibility to be in lock step with the president." The aide added, "There's going to be enough pressure from the Hill that the admin recognizes that they need to back off, to some degree, if they actually want to get something done."

Other Republicans speaking anonymously blamed Trump for the diesel cost crisis and the Iran war. "He needs to drop this decision," a House GOP aide said, adding: "Like, A, it's illegal. We passed a law saying there's an energy ban on Russia." The aide asked, "But at the same time, why did we get ourselves into a war in the Middle East to upset fuel prices? You want to lower fuel prices, figure that out."

Pentagon officials held closed-door briefings to build support for the $1.5 trillion budget request. Democrats and some Senate Republicans questioned whether the late-year classified sessions would win enough support to advance the proposal. Hegseth's office declined to comment. At an Army conference in Washington, D.C., Hegseth said the Pentagon was working with the White House to push the package through "regardless" of the midterm results. He declared: "We're running fast immediately with the committees to ensure that that reconciliation bill, at a minimum of $350 [billion], potentially more, ultimately fills up what this department needs in order for the president to ensure that we reestablish deterrence and rebuild the military around the world."