WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans on the House Budget Committee advanced a $95 billion package Thursday for the Iran war, farm aid and President Donald Trump's push for strict new voter ID requirements, moving forward on a party-line vote despite trouble in the full House — and the Senate.
Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington framed the proposal as one last push to deliver for voters ahead of the midterm elections that will determine control of Congress. It advanced on a vote of 20-14.
"We are rallying to finish what we started when the American people sent us here,” said Arrington, R-Texas.
With Iran war funding makes up the bulk of the package, some $60 billion, Arrington acknowledged that people can debate “why we're there” in the overseas conflict. But he said the money is needed for basic supplies — "just the bombs, bullets and battlefield readiness for our men and women in uniform to finish the fight successfully and return home safely — that’s it."
The resolution, which sets out instructions for the various congressional committees to draw up proposals, also calls for $13 billion for Intelligence, $12 billion for Agriculture, and $10 billion for Administration, which handles voting and elections.
The proposal is the third budget reconciliation package Republicans in control of Congress have put forward this session to steamroll Trump's priorities past Democratic objections using a legislative procedure that allows for simple majority votes for passage.
It's the same process House Speaker Mike Johnson used to pass Trump's big tax cuts bill last year and to advance Homeland Security money after Democrats refused to fund the department following the deaths of Americans protesting Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions earlier this year.
Johnson is pushing the effort almost single-handedly, without full backing from his slim House Republican majority or the Senate. He held lengthy meetings with Trump this week at the White House and hosted a private session for Republicans at the president's Camp David retreat to hash out details.
But the 47-page package remains a long-shot effort — too meager for some, too costly for others — ahead of voting in the full House expected next week.
Key Republican Rep. Chip Roy, an influential member of the Freedom Caucus who has expressed reservations about the package, did not vote at the Budget Committee session, as his home state of Texas deals with flooding.
Democrats are ready to vote against the proposal, as they did Thursday during committee action.
Rep. Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania, the ranking Democrat on the Budget Committee, said the document, some 6,500 words, never once mentions the issue that's top of mind for many Americans: affordability.
“People know this is a failed presidency, and a failed Republican majority,” Boyle said.
Democrats offered more than a dozen amendments to the package during the hourslong Budget Committee session and raised questions about how the new spending will ultimately be paid for — either via budget cuts to other programs or by piling onto the nation's debt.
Boyle offered an amendment to reverse healthcare cuts from the Republicans' big tax breaks bill. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., sought to reinstate funding for food stamps under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Rep. Scott Peters, D-Calif., suggested funding for immigration enforcement at Department of Homeland Security could be used to offset costs elsewhere.
Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, blamed the high costs of living on the Iran war and said every time Americans open their refrigerators or go to the gas pump they are “paying for a war that should never have been started.”
Next steps are highly volatile, as the House holds a rare Saturday pro forma session, which is a largely administrative meeting that will allow the resolution to be filed in time for consideration next week.
Johnson can only lose a few detractors on his side of the aisle as he relies on Republicans only, without Democrats, for passage.
But the resolution would also have to be agreed on by the Senate, and Republican senators have largely panned the House effort, waiting to see if Johnson can heave it to passage.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said senators have “a lot of questions” about it – from defense hawks concerned about the military to deficit hawks who want to offset costs.
“It’s a very uneven path,” he said. “We’ll see what the House can execute on,” he said, but “I can’t make any guarantees over here.”
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., who is expected to take over the Senate Budget Committee after the sudden death of Sen. Lindsey Graham, has been a leading budget hawk concerned about the nation's rising deficits.
The House plans to have its committees work on bill text over the August recess and bring the whole package back to the floor for a final vote in the fall.
Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.
House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, right, speaks with Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., the ranking member, during a markup on the Fiscal Year 2027 spending plan, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., center, joined by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, left, listens during a markup on the Fiscal Year 2027 spending plan, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, center, speaks with an aide during a markup on the Fiscal Year 2027 spending plan, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
SOUTHPORT, England (AP) — Jackson Suber got his first taste of links golf — on his first trip to Europe — when he arrived at Royal Birkdale. Three days later, he proved to be a quick study with a superb par save and a 6-foot eagle late in his round for a 5-under 65 to lead the British Open.
Bryson DeChambeau might be getting the hang of this, too, no matter what three-time British Open champion Nick Faldo thinks about his strategy.
An opening round lasting some 15 hours included just about everything during a warm and breezy start. Five of the leading 12 players were playing the British Open for the first time. Rory McIlroy missed three 4-foot putts in a four-hole span and had six bogeys in his round of 72. Scottie Scheffler opened with four birdies in six holes and didn't make another the rest of the way for a 68.
Most startling was Suber, a 26-year-old American who has yet to win anywhere since leaving Ole Miss and is playing in only his third major. He made a tough par save on the new par-3 15th with slopes off severely on both sides. He followed with a 6-foot birdie on the 16th and then choked up on a 4-iron from 233 yards and hit it to 6 feet for eagle.
Not bad for his seventh round in any major, and first on a links course as tough as Birkdale.
“Just kind of kept the ball in good spots and didn’t put much pressure on my game to make pars,” Suber said.
He led by one shot over Sungjae Im and Dan Brown of England. The nine players at 67 include four Open debutants — Alex Smalley, Ryan Gerard, M.J. Daffue, Pierceson Coody.
And then there was DeChambeau, who has missed the cut in all three majors this year and has chosen not to speak to the media since Friday at the Masters, except for on LIV Golf.
Turns out he had enough strategy to get in the mix, often ripping driver to take the fearsome bunkers out of play and doing enough right for a 67 that left him two shots behind.
Strategy became a talking point when Faldo told the Sky Sports Golf Podcast this week, “DeChambeau has zero clue of strategy. He said last year, ‘I’m going to go out and attack the links’. Well, I’ve never attacked a links. You thread it, don’t you? You feed it down the fairway. ... You don’t think, ‘Oh, I’ll just blast it down there.’”
DeChambeau hit only four fairways but missed only three greens, though he was rarely in big trouble when he wasn't in the short grass.
He twice blasted tee shots over the trouble and close to the green at the par-4 second and the par-4 10th, the latter a blind shot. He made birdie on both. And while Jon Rahm was among those who said going long can lead to trouble at some point, the only two shots DeChambeau dropped came from his putting (the par-5 14th) and chipping (the par-4 18th).
He was tied for the early lead until going from wispy rough over the back of the 18th, chipped weakly to 8 feet and missed the putt. He missed three birdie chances from around 10 feet or under, one of them on redesigned, 321-yard fifth hole, when he drove it just over the green.
DeChambeau agreed to take a few questions from the R&A and said, “I feel like I did a really good job today of being incredibly strategic and focused super hard on placing it in the right places. Besides 18, I placed the ball in some good areas. I just need to hit more fairways. Other than that, I feel like my strategy was nice today.”
Cameron Young, one of the hottest players in the spring but quiet the past two months, also was at 67 along with Robert MacIntyre, Thomas Detry and Francesco Molinari, the 2018 Open champion at Carnoustie, which also featured a baked links course.
Scheffler had few complaints after a 68, even not making a birdie over his last 12 holes, playing the two par 5s in 1 over and making a pair of soft bogeys. He also missed a 5-foot birdie putt. Whether he could have gotten more out of his round was of little concern.
“If I continue to strike the ball the way I did today and just keep giving myself looks, that’s part of it,” Scheffler said. “Golf is played over 72 holes, and I definitely liked what I saw today.”
Smalley, who took a two-shot lead into the final round at the PGA Championship, was leading until his drive on the 18th was fading with the wind and then the luck of links golf took over. One wild bounce sent it further right and out of bounds. He finished with a double bogey for a 67.
“Got up to where the ball was supposed to be and was told it hit a spectator fence and kicked another 15 yards right out of bounds. All three of us in our group actually hit it over there, and mine just got an unlucky break,” Smalley said. "Poor tee shot, poor break. Sometimes that's how it goes."
Scheffler played in the group with DeChambeau and they traded birdies early. For six holes, the world's No. 1 player had total control of his shots and looked as though he couldn't miss. He got to 4 under when he gave a leg kick as his 40-foot birdie putt dropped on No. 6.
But then he missed the seventh green — 139 yards, downhill — to the left between a pair of bunkers, and his pitch was so strong it flirted with going in a bunker on the other side. He missed a 5-foot birdie chance on the 11th, and then made a mess of the par-5 17th when his ball was buried so deep in the grass he thought someone might have stepped on it during the search.
“Sometimes you hit it over there and you get a clean lie and you’re able to give yourself a look, and then other times like today, you pay a pretty severe price,” he said. “But I guess don’t hit it offline.”
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Jackson Suber of the United States, and his caddie Greyson Porter walks towards the 18th green during the first day of the British Open Golf championships at Royal Birkdale golf club, in Southport, England, Thursday, July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
Jackson Suber of the United States putts win the 18th green during the first day of the British Open Golf championships at Royal Birkdale golf club, in Southport, England, Thursday, July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
Sungjae Im of South Korea plays his shot from the 1st tee during the first day of the British Open Golf championships at Royal Birkdale golf club, in Southport, England, Thursday, July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Daniel Brown of England watches where his shot has landed after playing off the 1st tee during the first day of the British Open Golf championships at Royal Birkdale golf club, in Southport, England, Thursday, July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Scottie Scheffler of the United States plays out of the thick rough on the 17th hole during the first day of the British Open Golf championships at Royal Birkdale golf club, in Southport, England, Thursday, July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Bryson DeChambeau of the United States gestures as he walks the 7th hole during the first day of the British Open Golf championships at Royal Birkdale golf club, in Southport, England, Thursday, July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
Bryson DeChambeau of the United States plays tom the 18th green from the rough during the first day of the British Open Golf championships at Royal Birkdale golf club, in Southport, England, Thursday, July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
The welcome to the Open sign on the large scoreboard overlooking the 18th green ahead of the British Open Golf championships at Royal Birkdale golf club, in Southport, England, Wednesday, July 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland putts on the 10th green during a practice round for the British Open Golf championships at Royal Birkdale golf club, in Southport, England, Wednesday, July 15, 2026. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
The Claret Jug trophy which will be presented to the winning golfer on display at the driving range ahead of the British Open Golf championships at Royal Birkdale golf club, in Southport, England, Wednesday, July 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
