Since President Donald Trump started to wage war against Iran without authorization from Congress and seemingly without much logistical or financial planning, there have been reports that the White House may request that congressional lawmakers authorize emergency supplemental funding to bolster his unauthorized war.
Early reporting on the possible supplemental request suggested that the White House may ask for up to $50 billion in new money. But, according to new reporting by the Washington Post, the Pentagon asked the Trump White House to approve a more than $200 billion request that it wants to send to Congress amid the ongoing war in Iran. The New York Times also separately reported on the details of a $200 billion funding request.
Approving the money could allow the Trump administration to argue that Congress had retroactively authorized the war, legal experts told TPM this month. President Bill Clinton made a similar argument about the war in Kosovo, which began absent Congressional authorization. The Clinton White House argued that funding Congress passed for that conflict doubled as authorization.
