House advances budget for $1.15 trillion in military funding

The House of Representatives voted 216-to-214 on Wednesday to approve a $1.15 trillion budget outline, earmarking up to $95 billion to fund the Iran war, as well as $10 billion in funds to implement voter ID requirements championed in the proposed SAVE Act. The National Defense Authorization Act’s passage kicked off the GOP’s latest reconciliation process, allowing Republicans to bypass Democratic opposition with a simple majority vote in both GOP-controlled chambers.

GOP House leaders released a joint statement after the bill’s passage, characterizing reconciliation as the best path to eventually pass the SAVE Act provisions long championed by President Donald Trump. The defense budget reconciliation will tee up Congress to enact crucial goals of securing elections and protecting the homeland, according to the joint statement.

This proposal will cut about $30 billion in wasteful spending while still ensuring soldiers receive overdue pay raises, according to a separate Wednesday statement from House Speaker Mike Johnson. The budget also funds the Golden Dome construction to bolster nuclear deterrence and missile defense capabilities, he added.

What do Democrats have to say? House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries issued a statement Wednesday calling the budget outline a scheme to fund what he described as Trump’s endless war in Iran. He said Democrats strongly opposed it and alluded to a shift in power after the November midterm elections.

What happens now? House leaders said they expected the Senate to pass the defense funding, allowing House committees to start drafting and passing the reconciliation measure, dubbed the SAVE and Protect America Act.