Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C., said Saturday that he wants Congress to closely review the proposed $200 billion supplemental spending package tied to the war in Iran before signing off, warning that unrelated items could be attached to the request, even as he signaled support for funding focused on military needs.
Budd emphasized his priority was ensuring U.S. troops had what they needed as the conflict entered its fourth week.
“My main focus is making sure that the warfighter has what he or she needs to make sure that our country is safe,” he said.
However, “let’s see what’s in that supplemental $200 billion,” Budd added. “And it seems like everybody’s coming out of the woodwork with non-defense-related things, trying to attach it to that.”
His comments came as the Pentagon seeks an additional $200 billion for the war.
As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Budd tied the request to President Donald Trump’s handling of the conflict, stating Trump wants to end the operation quickly rather than let it turn into a prolonged war.
“President Trump is doing what he needs to make our country safe. He does not like long wars, but he wants to get this [done] quickly,” Budd said.
When asked how he viewed the operation’s progress and what would amount to mission accomplished, Budd noted that Trump was being careful not to declare victory too early.
“You don’t want to throw out those [promises]. I mean, we’ve seen a president say ‘mission accomplished’ when it wasn’t quite accomplished,” he said.
Budd also argued that more NATO countries should step up, pointing out that only a handful had backed the effort and larger militaries in the alliance should do more.
“By the way, out of the 32 countries in NATO, only five, and not even the biggest five, have stepped up and valiantly supported this effort because they realized the threat that Iran is,” he said. “Even though it’s degrading if you look … So we need some of the other countries, especially those with bigger militaries, to get involved.”
