House appropriators have approved a spending bill that would block plans from defense hawks to give the Pentagon a stronger hand in crafting nuclear weapons budgets.
Lead Democrats have proposed a bill to raise statutory budget caps for two years, with $733 billion for defense in FY20 — but it’s likely to spark a fight with the White House.
Key Democrats are laughing off reports that President Trump reversed course on his defense spending plans and now wants a dramatic boost in the military budget next fiscal year.
The top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee is urging House appropriators to fund the State Department for 2018 at least as much as they did for 2017.