The U.S. Senate denied Trump $70 billion for a war with Iran
The U.S. Senate approved a bill providing temporary funding for the federal government but rejected the Trump administration’s demand to allocate approximately $70 billion for military spending related to Iran.
Senators approved a short-term bill designed to keep the U.S. federal government operating from October 1 through December 11—covering the period from the start of the new fiscal year through December 11.
The bill received strong support: 90 senators voted “yes,” and six voted “no.”
The bill must now be considered by the U.S. House of Representatives. Members of Congress are expected to return to work on August 31.
However, the bill passed by the Senate does not include the approximately $70 billion in military spending related to Iran that the Trump administration had insisted upon.
The White House wanted these funds to be approved through a separate resolution. However, the Senate did not support this proposal, and the Republican majority is prepared to go on summer recess without passing the necessary funding.
In addition to funding for military spending, senators did not support Trump’s demand to include new voting restrictions in the bill.
Republican Party leaders explained that there were not enough votes to pass this initiative.
At the same time, the bill includes certain provisions sought by the White House administration. In particular, they allow for the implementation of a number of projects related to military equipment during the period of temporary funding.
This was reported by Bloomberg.
U.S. President Donald Trump has so far been unable to secure a military victory in the war with Iran and has repeatedly backed away from threats of large-scale strikes, citing the possibility of resuming negotiations. The Guardian reports this, citing critics and experts who call such tactics inconsistent.
Despite large-scale U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, its nuclear program has likely not been completely destroyed. According to The New York Times, Tehran may have retained stockpiles of highly enriched uranium that could potentially be used to quickly produce up to ten nuclear warheads.
