Republicans have been fuming about President Donald Trump blowing up their achievements to push for his own doomed obsession, but now, per The New Republic, he has saddled them with all-new "impossible demands" about spending billions ahead of the midterms.
The GOP is desperate to rack up new legislative wins in the short time they have left before the midterms, to hopefully mitigate the heavy losses they are expected to take. Voters have consistently said that economic and affordability issues are their main concerns, but Trump has squashed efforts by Congress to pass new bills to address those issues, refusing to sign them until the SAVE Act is passed. That bill — which would introduce new proof of citizenship requirements for voter registration — lacks the votes to pass in the Senate, which GOP leaders have stressed to the president numerous times, to no avail.
Now, in addition to wasting valuable time on the doomed SAVE Act, Trump on Tuesday made yet more costly demands of Congress in a Truth Social post in the wee hours of the night, urging them to pass hundreds of billions in new defense funding at a time when voters are becoming more and more hostile to unnecessary federal spending.
“The United States Military has never been stronger, or more powerful," Trump wrote. "No other Nation can do what we do (It’s not even close!). This year we set even more Historic Recruiting Records, months ahead of schedule. Morale has never been higher. Our Military’s unmatched POWER was on full display during our Celebration of 250 Years of American Independence and, like our Country, the WAR DEPARTMENT has never been ‘HOTTER.' We need to keep it that way, which is why, when Congress returns, we must pass Reconciliation 3.0, with 350 Billion Dollars for Defense, plus THE SAVE AMERICA ACT!"
He added: “I am calling on House and Senate Leadership to make this their Number One Priority, and ensure that 350 Billion Dollars in Recon 3.0 moves out of the Budget Committee as soon as Congress is back in session. The SAVE AMERICA ACT, which everyone is asking for, paired with the full funding of our Great Department of War, can be passed very quickly, ensuring that the United States of America stays FREE for Generations to come.”
Reporting on this new demand from Trump, The New Republic noted that his SAVE Act insistence has put the "third massive spending package of his second term in jeopardy." This new funding demand also represents a massive jump from the $67 billion he previously requested for the Pentagon, putting the package in even deeper uncertainty.
"To add hundreds of billions more to that and force through voter ID requirements and mail-in ballot bans is a gargantuan task, regardless of how much the president posts," the report argued. "The United States spent over $900 billion on defense last year alone."
