News: Democratic lawmakers are warning the Pentagon not to use money from the GOP reconciliation package enacted earlier this year to cover unapproved defense costs during a shutdown.
The calls come after the Defense Department signaled over the weekend it could dip into that $150 billion spending pot to continue funding a host of priorities if government spending lapses after Tuesday.
Sen. Jack Reed (R.I.), the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, told us he’s “absolutely” concerned the DOD would use the money in ways Congress didn’t stipulate.
“I think they consider the reconciliation bill sort of a slush fund,” Reed said.
Having a stream of mandatory funding at the ready makes this prospective shutdown different from others. A DOD planning document posted Saturday night shows the money could go toward the Pentagon’s “highest priorities,” including supporting security operations at the U.S.-Mexico border, shipbuilding and critical munitions.
Many of those areas received money under the GOP’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. In approving the legislation, Congress also laid out stipulations for how it wants the Pentagon to spend the dollars. But ultimately it’s up to military leaders to follow congressional intent.
“There needs to be real scrutiny and oversight to make sure” lawmakers can track the movement of those funds, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said Monday.
Waiting game. Lawmakers are still waiting for the Defense Department to send over its detailed plan for spending the reconciliation money. It was initially due to the Hill in August.
Its continued absence makes it difficult for lawmakers to craft a bicameral FY2026 defense appropriations bill. The administration’s defense budget request was predicated on reconciliation passing. And the House defense spending plan was written before the reconciliation package became law in July.
Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said the prospect of the DOD leveraging reconciliation money should be “food for thought for Republicans and Democrats” who don’t prioritize completing appropriations bills on time.
“If the DOD feels that they have to make arbitrary or unitary decisions that would not be similar to what Congress wants, then that’s our fault for not getting our work done,” he said.
In other defense news. Defense trade group Aerospace Industries Association wants the Office of Management and Budget to ensure work on agency contracts inked before Wednesday continues during a potential shutdown.
In a Monday letter shared exclusively with us, AIA President and CEO Eric Fanning also asked OMB Director Russ Vought to stipulate that Pentagon contracting personnel are among the workers classified as essential.
