Private debate, captured on tape, reveals rift in GOP over military spending

On Friday, President Trump announced his plans to lavish spending on the nation’s military in remarks at the Pentagon near Washington. But just one day beforehand, congressional Republicans debated the costs of such a buildup and how to pay for it at their annual policy retreat in Philadelphia.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Bob Corker was the most outspoken in questioning whether Republicans would be able to stomach making the kind of cuts necessary to fund a Republican wish list of new defense and foreign policy priorities.

“I’m sorry, I wonder sometimes where we as a party are going,” Corker (R-Tenn.) told a roomful of House and Senate Republicans Thursday during a national security discussion, adding that he was “discouraged” by the apparent lip service being paid to the potential costs.

“There’s a spending side of this that if we don’t deal with, we’re not going to come close to defending the needs of our country,” he warned. “I fear that we’re going to leave here without thinking of the other side of the equation.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2017/01/28/inside-the-gop-debate-over-strengthening-defense-spending-despite-the-cost/?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_pp-gopdefense-1235am%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.7657b2e6d0d9