Weekly Washington Policy Pulse: Defense Spending, Farm Aid, Fed, AI (June 29, 2026)

A look at the $87.6 billion supplemental spending request from the White House, which would earmark most of that to the Department of Defense and the conflict with Iran, led Bloomberg Intelligence's July 29 Washington Policy Pulse. However, the request may get a frosty reception on Capitol Hill from both sides of the aisle. Democrats will likely oppose any larger request tied to the conflict with Iran and Republicans may be concerned with messaging ahead of the US midterms. And while $11 billion in farm aid that was included in the request would have bipartisan support, it's inclusion in a larger bill makes it less of a chance of passing in 2026. Increased defense spending, if enacted, would likely be tied to counter-drone and anti-missile technology, aiding contractors like Lockheed Martin, RTX and Northrop Grumman.

Finally, we gave a slight preview of the Supreme Court's decision on the Federal Reserve Lisa Cook case, as well as highlighted upcoming legislation and hearings in July tied to artificial intelligence. While US policy on AI remains high-level and "light-touch", there is growing dissent with the sector with both Republicans and Democrats.

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