WASHINGTON — The Trump administration could soon ask Congress for billions more in military funding as it wages an open-ended bombing campaign in Iran, prompting skepticism among even the most national security-minded Senate Democrats.
Most Democrats are flatly ruling it out, noting that President Donald Trump didn’t seek authorization from Congress before launching the war, so lawmakers now have no duty to help him bankroll another costly military operation in the Middle East.
“Our answer should just be simply, ‘No, you’re not getting money to fund an illegal, unpopular, potentially world-altering war,’” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) told HuffPost.
“We got people sleeping on the street. People can’t afford health care, people can’t afford groceries, people can’t afford child care, education. Invest in the American people, not in an endless war,” added Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who caucuses with Democrats.
Others want more information about what the money would be used for before making a final determination. There are bipartisan concerns, for example, that U.S. military munition stockpiles could run out if the conflict lasts a month or more. Senators who oppose the war are also sensitive to the needs of U.S. troops and the equipment needed to protect them, such as defensive systems used to shoot down Iranian missiles that are targeting U.S. military bases in the region.
“I would like to understand the goals of the war before I decide how I feel about the funding of the war,” Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) told HuffPost.
However, Slotkin, a former intelligence analyst, said she would have a difficult time supporting additional funding: “They can’t even get their story straight on an hourly basis on the justification of the war. I will always look at anything that is brought to me, but I have a pretty skeptical eye, given the size of the Pentagon budget that we gave them last year.”
“I’m always going to be very concerned about our troops and making sure that they have the training and defensive systems they need to protect themselves, but I have yet to figure out how this is in the best interest of the American people,” added Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), who served in Operation Desert Storm during the Gulf War.
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), an Iraq War veteran, called Trump’s military strikes against Iran a “dumb” war. He argued resources sustaining the war should come from Israel and U.S. allies in the Gulf States.
“They could also throw some of the money in, but they’re certainly not going to get a blank check for a war of choice,” Gallego told HuffPost.
Trump insisted earlier this week that the U.S. can fight wars “forever” with its current stockpile of munitions, calling their availability “virtually unlimited.” However, the president suggested that higher-end weapons systems that are critical in defending U.S. military personnel against Iranian ballistic missiles could need additional funding.
“At the highest end, we have a good supply, but are not where we want to be. Much additional high grade weaponry is stored for us in outlying countries,” Trump wrote on TruthSocial.
Congress passed a massive defense spending bill last year with more than $900 billion for the military. Republicans included an additional $150 billion for the Pentagon in their One Big Beautiful Bill, which was partially paid for by massive cuts to health care programs for Americans, including Medicaid.
Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), a senior appropriator, said Republicans can use Trump’s “slush fund” for any war needs. In a post online, Schatz said the war is costing U.S. taxpayers $1 billion a day.
“In one fucking month we will spend more over there than we needed to save healthcare for more than 2 million Americans. They literally are taking away your food and your healthcare for this regime change war of choice,” Schatz wrote.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, added, “I don’t even think they’ve thought about what the cost of this is going to be. So none of us can say what we will do on a bill we don’t know without a plan of what they’re going to do, how much it’s going to cost, and what they’re going to ask for.”
Democrats aren’t the only ones raising concerns about the cost and scope of Trump’s war. Some Republicans noted that Trump ran as an anti-war candidate in the 2024 presidential campaign, suggesting he broke his promises to the American people about launching a war against Iran.
“Our military spending is already more than the next 10 countries combined,” said Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), the lone Republican who voted to end hostilities with Iran. “So, no, I’m not for spending more money.”
“I like what Trump said what he ran on, what he said a million times [against pushing for] regime change,” Paul told HuffPost. “And I guess it is appalling to me that nobody up here will stand for what they once stood for. They just now stand for whatever they’ve been told they’re supposed to stand for that day.”
“It saddens me, actually,” he added.