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Republicans touted their own victories in a bipartisan spending agreement Tuesday amid concerns that negotiators had given up too much to Democrats.

Many Republicans argued that $21 billion in military funding, $1.5 billion in new money for border security and several unrelated policy provisions are major steps toward fulfilling President Trumps agenda.

The positive framing comes as Democrats have tried to declare victory over obtaining $5 billion in domestic spending increases and blocking other measures, such as funding to begin construction of a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico.

Trump touted the spending deal Tuesday at a ceremony honoring the Air Force Academy Football team. After years of partisan bickering and gridlock, this bill is a clear win for the American people, he said.

Turning to the team members, who were standing behind him, Trump said, This is what winning looks like, something that you folks really know a lot about.

Democrats boasted Tuesday they had bested Republicans in the negotiations by blocking many GOP policy provisions and securing $5 billion in new domestic spending. Republicans leaders argued that some of their members supported and benefited from that money, including additional resources to help fight wildfires in the West and provide health care for coal miners.

Republicans argued that their wins were most evident in trims and changes to more than 150 government programs and defense spending increases secured from an off-budget war fund without an equal bump for domestic programs that Democrats traditionally request. House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) argued this spending measure marks the first time in years that Republicans garnered those increased funds.

This forced parity that we lived under the Obama years really constrained our ability to rebuild our military for this century, Ryan told reporters Tuesday. No longer are the needs of our military going to be held hostage for increases in domestic spending.

But some top Republicans on defense issues argued that parity between domestic and military spending was not truly achieved because $15 billion of the defense money came from an off-budget war fund.

The money from the war fund would not be automatically renewed if Congress decides to simply extend spending levels in upcoming budget fights. The funds would also not be included in calculating the starting point for future negotiations over defense spending.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) said he believes the war fund has been abused and said he plans to vote against the measure as a result.

It has become nothing but a fancy slush fund, Corker said. That type of spending doesnt give the military a view into the future.

Democrats argued they have always been willing to approve extra defense money from the war fund, pointing to a 2015 budget agreement that included nearly $58 billion in defense funds and $15 billion for nondefense spending. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), one of the architects of the previous bipartisan budget agreement with Ryan , said arguing otherwise mischaracterizes the negotiation.

Moving forward parity isnt an issue, Murray said.

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Tex.) said in a statement on Monday that he fully backs the defense increase and that it represents a clear break from previous policies

It is good that the defense needs in this measure do not appear to be tied to any other issue, Thornberry said. For too long, some in both parties have attempted to use our military as leverage to pursue other political objectives.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) said he was torn about voting for the spending bill over concerns about the war fund and worried it contains several unrelated measures, like a ban on using money to transfer detainees out of the military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba . Nonetheless, McCain said that he was pleased that GOP negotiators got some military spending increases.

There is more [defense] spending than just war funds, McCain said. Im upset about a lot of provisions.

Some appropriators dismissed concerns, arguing the bill is more conservative than similar legislation negotiated under President Barack Obama.

Appropriations Committee member Rep. Thomas J. Rooney (R-Fla.) said the measure included some GOP concessions to win Senate approval, where Republicans have a slim 52 to 48 majority and must turn to Democrats to get the 60 votes necessary to pass most legislation.

Rooney said it could be difficult to get future defense spending increases through the Senate but that doesnt mean Republicans wont try.

I hate trying to figure out what the Senate is going to do, Rooney said. Its a fight between us and the Democrats and were in control of the committee.

Mick Mulvaney, Trumps director of the Office of Management and Budget, appeared in the White House briefing room early Tuesday afternoon, arguing that the GOP won plenty of victories in the spending bill

Mulvaney expressed frustration with Democrats in Congress, whom he accused of a spike the football celebration of the deal. In reality, Mulvaney said, Trump and the Republicans were very pleased with the measure.

Theyre walking around trying to make it look like they pulled one over fast on the president. I just wont stand for it, Mulvaney said, referring to the Democrats.

Despite a tweet earlier Tuesday from Trump suggesting a shutdown could be good for the government this fall, Mulvaney said it was Democrats who were pushing for a shutdown this time and, he asserted, Trump prevailed by not letting that happen.

Among the procedural wins, Mulvaney said, was a deal that broke an unwritten rule that Republicans could secure $1 in new defense spending for every $1 Democrats get in nondefense spending.

Mulvaney said the ratio in the spending measure was about $1 to 20 cents, favoring Trump.

We didnt go dollar-for-dollar, Mulvaney said. Thats a tremendous development for this president and a huge win from a negotiating standpoint.

Mulvaney said Trump also got a much better deal on border funding than most people realized. While its been widely reported there was no funding for the bricks and mortar of a wall on Mexicos border, the deal does allow the administration to replace existing fencing.

Not all Republicans were happy with the deal. Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) said in an interview with CNN that despite the military increases, Democrats were able to stave off many GOP demands and exact new domestic spending in the process.

I think the Democrats cleaned our clock, Graham said in the interview. There are things in this bill that I just dont understand. This was not winning from the Republican point of view.

The conservative group Heritage Action also urged members to reject the spending bill over the concessions to Democrats, calling the measure a rebuke to President Trumps agenda.

While Trump fell short of his rhetoric, some analysts suggested the outcome was about what he reasonably could have expected.

This is what a bipartisan spending bill looks like, said Michael Steel, a former senior aide to former House speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio). You have some wins on both sides.

Republicans say that the domestic spending increases are among those mutual wins. Democrats generally have been the ones demanding domestic spending in exchange for military increases. Republicans were also able to scale back Democrats requests in areas like funding to help Puerto Rico make up a shortfall in Medicaid payments.

In some cases, Mulvaney also argued, wins being touted by Democrats were actually triumphs for Trump, too. He cited health-care benefits for miners as an example.

While there has been grumbling about the spending deal from some conservatives, Mulvaney said they, too, will realize its a win upon closer inspection.

Id be happy to convince anybody on the right that this is a great deal, he said.

As part of the White Houses push to change the narrative over the spending bill, Trumps legislative affairs director, Marc Short, held a conference call with conservative media on Monday night to talk up the deal.

I hear that the budget will be regarded as very depressing news by many conservatives, one journalist said on the call. Im wondering because, well, from what Ive heard already, just chatter from friends.

Short sought to assure him that wasnt the case, saying there was certainly things in there that many conservatives were excited about.

Read more at PowerPost

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Republicans argue they won plenty in spending deal, too - Washington Post