Rep. Tim Burchett said Tuesday he remains undecided on how he'll vote on a Republican bill to fund the federal government, as he's concerned that any voting for a measure that includes increased spending for the Pentagon will preclude calls to reduce funding later.
The Tennessee Republican, speaking on CNN, also warned that once President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) targets Pentagon spending, there are those in Washington who are "going to squeal like a stuck pig and they should, because they have been, you know, they're war pimps."
"Their business is war, and it's very good," Burchett said. "Young men are dying and old men are making decisions and you're seeing stock portfolios of people on both sides of the aisle in this building that just go up considerably every time there's a war anywhere in the world, because our arms dealers are selling them that."
He acknowledged that his opinions on military spending and the pending spending bill "make me a very unpopular person and probably will get me primaried and makes me unpopular with my colleagues, but dadgummit, it's the truth."
"People ought to start paying attention," Burchett added. "And people ought to start paying attention. It's all public record…you can follow every transaction that members make."
The proposed continuing resolution includes increased spending of nearly $9 billion for Central Command and European Command, reports Breaking Defense. The measure specifies that the funds are only to be used "for U.S. military operations, force protection, and deterrence."
The measure includes $892.5 billion for defense, boosting its topline by $6 billion above the FY24 spending limits while remaining just below the $895 billion that had been forecast this year.
But he said that he's concerned that if the government is shut down because a bill to keep it open isn't passed, that will negate all the cost savings that have been coming through DOGE, "so I guess I'm sort of between a rock and a hard place" on voting.
Burchett said he has spoken with Trump and remains undecided on the spending bill.
"This is the very first time since I've been in Congress and some of the old timers like Chip Roy have been in Congress that we've actually seen a reduction in the size of government," he said. "It's several billion dollars, although in Washington terms, that's very little. In Tennessee, that's a whole heck of a lot."
Burchett declined to comment on his talk with Trump, but he noted that the president is concerned about government spending and the economy.
"He's concerned [about] the misconception that we're going to cut Medicaid and Medicare and things like that, and that's the furthest thing from the truth," said Burchett. "This is an actual reduction in the size of government. It's what people have demanded across the aisle across this country, and that's why President Trump won with a mandate."
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, meanwhile, has called for 8% cuts to the Pentagon budget each year for the next five years. When asked if he's concerned that if he votes for an increase in spending the decreased spending won't happen, Burchett said he's concerned that generally people on Capitol Hill have "all lied to me, all of our past leadership."
Trump, however, "has never lied to me, and I've given him that opportunity several times in the last couple of weeks," the congressman said.
"I don't think he will. I think he shares those same concerns because he knows a reduction in spending and moving away from a more government-based economy to a capitalist-based economy will increase the productivity of this country," said Burchett. "It will force us out of any so-called recessions at that time, and I believe he understands that and he gets it."