HONG KONG (AP) — Lawmakers in China’s casino city of Macao unanimously passed a law Thursday that would allow closed-door trials in cases where authorities decide that public proceedings would harm national security.
The legislation adds new authority to a national security committee in Macao, which is a special administrative region of China along with neighboring Hong Kong. Critics say authorities in both cities have been strengthening their powers over political expression in recent years.
Under the new Macao legislation, if judges and the city's national security committee both decide that hearing a case publicly could harm national security, judges can hold proceedings behind closed doors.
The committee, whose duties will include studying how to implement security policies of the central Beijing government, currently consists of members such as security officials, police chiefs and the city leader. The legislation also would expand the committee's membership to represent a somewhat broader cross-section of interests by adding other city officials such as the heads of cultural affairs and education and youth development.
Allowing closed trials in criminal cases worries some observers, especially after Macao police last year detained former pro-democracy lawmaker Au Kam San on suspicion of colluding with outside forces in breach of the territory's national security law. It was the first publicly known case under the law after the legislation was enacted in 2009 and revised in 2023.
The Macao government said in a statement that the bill passed Thursday is of great significance for effectively safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests. It will take effect a day after it is published in the official gazette.
Macao, a former Portuguese colony, has grown from a monopoly-driven gambling enclave into one of the world’s biggest gaming hubs since its return to Chinese rule in 1999.
Its pro-democracy camp was never as influential as in Hong Kong, which is a former British colony that returned to China in 1997. The Macao government also faced far less massive protests challenging its rule when compared to Hong Kong.
But more political controls were introduced to the casino hub in recent years, especially after huge anti-government protests rocked Hong Kong in 2019, the biggest challenge to Beijing’s rule since its handover.
FILE - China President Xi Jinping delivers his speech during a welcoming dinner, ahead of celebrations for the 25th anniversary of Macao's handover from Portugal to China, in Macao, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Anthony Kwan, Pool, File)
FILE - Travelers from mainland China gather near the Ruins of St. Paul's, a tourist destination in Macao, Jan. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Kanis Leung, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon is seeking $200 billion in additional funds for the Iran war, a sizable amount that is certain to be met with questions from Congress, which would need to approve any new money.
The department sent the request to the White House, according to a senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private information. Asked about the figure at a press conference Thursday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did not directly confirm the amount, saying it could change.
“It takes money to kill bad guys,” Hegseth said.
But he said “we’re going back to Congress and our folks there to ensure that we’re properly funded.”
It’s an extraordinarily high number and comes on top of extra funding the Defense Department already received last year in President Donald Trump’s big tax cuts bill. Such a request would need to be approved by Congress, and it is not at all clear such spending would have political support.
Congress has been bracing for a new spending request but it is not clear the White House has transmitted the request for consideration. Lawmakers have not authorized the war, and Congress is showing growing unease with the military operation’s scope and strategy.
The new funding request was first reported by The Washington Post.
While the House and Senate are controlled by the president’s Republican Party many of the more conservative lawmakers are also fiscal hawks, with little political appetite for big spending, on military operations or other matters. Most Democrats are likely to reject such a request and demand more detailed plans from the Trump administration about the U.S. military goals and objectives.
Rep. Ken Calvert, the Republican chair of the House subcommittee with oversight over defense spending, said he was already advocating for a supplemental spending bill to allow the Pentagon to replenish munitions.
“That was going to happen, and now we have this conflict with some additional costs. So, that’s where we’re at," Calvert of California said Thursday.
"I know there are peripheral issues out there that people are concerned about, but right now, this is about our national security and it’s important that we get this done,” he said.
But Rep. Betty McCollum of Minnesota, the ranking Democrat on the House subcommittee with oversight over defense spending, said the president has taken the U.S. into a war without coming to Congress and she’s demanding more details.
“This is not going to be a rubber stamp for the president of the United States,” McCollum said.
She said Congress is still waiting for the administration to explain where it would be spending the additional $150 billion funding that went to the Pentagon through Trump’s tax and spending cut bill. It’s also waiting on the president’s budget request for this year.
“I’m not writing blank checks to the Department of Defense,” McCollum said.
It all points to a monumental battle ahead in Congress over any new Pentagon spending that would almost certainly need support from Republicans and Democrats in a bipartisan package to push past objections toward approval. Republican leaders could either try to go it alone through an arduous budget process, or cut deals with Democrats on other priorities that would likely add to the hefty price tag.
The requested amount would be a sizable boost to the Pentagon’s annual budget, which Congress approved at more than $800 billion for the current fiscal year.
That’s on top of some $150 billion that Congress gave the Defense Department in last year’s tax cuts bill, much of it for specific projects and overall upgrades to the Pentagon's operations.
While some of the military's biggest champions on Capitol Hill have welcomed new spending as a way to boost munitions stockpiles and upgrade the U.S. defense capabilities in the face of emerging threats, others will certainly point to health care and other domestic needs that they view as more important priorities.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, who declines to call the military operation a war, said Wednesday he believes the attacks on Iran have accomplished the U.S. objectives of destroying the country's ballistic missiles and neutering its Navy, and will quickly comes to an end.
“As soon as we bring some calm to the situation, I think it’s all but done,” said Johnson, R-La.
Associated Press writer Konstantin Toropin contributed to this report.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks to members of the media during a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks to members of the media during a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
