President Trump is demanding a record $1.5 trillion military budget while his administration stonewalls Congress on what the war with Iran actually costs — and the taxpayer is supposed to foot the bill without asking questions.
The fight is exposing the usual bipartisan rubber stamp for Pentagon spending as suddenly unreliable. Trump wants Republicans to ram through $350 billion in military spending via a special budget bill that sidesteps a filibuster, according to the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot. That $350 billion is just a down payment on the full $1.5 trillion request. The Pentagon initially sought $200 billion in additional funding just for the Iran conflict, though the White House has reportedly considered scaling that back — without ever formally telling Congress what the number is.
Sen. Susan Collins, the Republican chair of the Appropriations Committee, said she's been
