House Armed Services Committee member Rick McCormick (R-Ga.) said he also wants to see some of the military windfall offset by government program cuts. But he acknowledged that many of those trade-offs may make the package harder to pass through Congress.
Some Republicans who attended insisted the boost was necessary.
“We’re competing with China, so we need to build our military up,” said Sen. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas), a member of the House Armed Services Committee. “So we need to get this money.”
Hegseth, who declined to speak to reporters after the meeting, wrote in a New York Post editorial this week that the “future of America’s economic and fiscal health depends on” fully funding the White House spending request.
Trump this month issued an ultimatum to congressional Republicans to pass the $350 billion in extra defense funding “immediately.” But any bill is likely to take several weeks to wind through the House and Senate, even if leaders can marshall enough support.
The House Appropriations Committee is expected to advance the $1.1 trillion base budget plan for the Pentagon late Wednesday. The full House could vote on the measure early next month, but Senate lawmakers have yet to unveil their defense funding drafts.
Mia McCarthy contributed to this report.
