House Republicans to Receive Pentagon Briefing on $350 Billion Defense Request

House Republicans will receive a classified briefing from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon on Tuesday evening regarding the White House request for a $350 billion defense funding boost. The meeting takes place while Republicans work to complete a framework for a third budget reconciliation bill that can bypass a Democratic filibuster in the Senate.

The bill is expected to pair the Pentagon funding increase with a grant program to encourage states to adopt voter ID and other election measures, as well as provisions addressing what Republicans describe as fraud in federal programs. Officials said the legislation could be marked up in the House Budget Committee on Thursday.

A separate White House request for an $87 billion defense supplemental includes $67 billion for operations related to the war in Iran, along with funding to address an ongoing Ebola outbreak and aid for farmers. The proposal allocates $21 billion for munitions, $5.1 billion for cybersecurity and autonomy programs, and $2.4 billion for drones.

Senate Democrats expressed skepticism after the supplemental was released on June 24. A Republican senator stated during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing that the supplemental focuses on munitions and urged colleagues not to reject it outright.

A Democratic senator noted that lawmakers are evaluating both the supplemental and the broader presidential request to raise the defense budget by more than 40 percent in a single year.