The Trump administration has formally asked Congress to approve $87.6 billion in supplemental spending, the bulk of it to cover military expenses from the ongoing US war against Iran — a request that arrives at a politically fraught moment as lawmakers from both parties grow increasingly sceptical of the conflict.

The Office of Management and Budget submitted the request on Wednesday in a letter from director Russell Vought to House Speaker Mike Johnson. Of the total, $67 billion is earmarked for the Department of Defense under what the White House calls Operation Epic Fury, the name for the US-led military campaign against Iran. That funding would cover munitions ($21 billion), operational costs to rebuild military stocks ($17.3 billion), classified programmes ($12.1 billion), and expenses related to military personnel and readiness. The package also includes $11.1 billion in agricultural aid — including $1.1 billion for Florida farmers hit by winter storms — $1.4 billion to address Ebola outbreaks in Central Africa, $1 billion toward the modernisation of New York City's Penn Station, and $500 million for construction and restoration projects in Washington, DC. The inclusion of these broader measures is widely seen as an effort to attract votes from lawmakers who might otherwise balk at another large defence bill.

The request faces a steep climb in Congress. It landed just one day after the Senate passed a war powers resolution — the first of its kind to clear Congress — directing President Trump to halt military activities against Iran or seek legislative approval. Four Republican senators crossed party lines to support the measure alongside Democrats, a sign of deepening unease within the president's own party. Trump publicly lambasted the defectors as