Capitol Hill is largely in the dark about what the influx of emergency funding for the Iran war will look like. But President Trump will have to get through Democrats, who are already divided on how to proceed.
Names of US soldiers killed in Iran war released
US military officials have released the names of US soldiers killed so far in the war with Iran.
WASHINGTON – Capitol Hill is bracing for an imminent request from President Donald Trump for billions of dollars in emergency cash to fund the escalating war with Iran.
A week into the conflict, Congressional leaders, including top Republican appropriators in the Senate and House, have said publicly that a request is almost certain to be filed. But exactly how much money the White House will ask for, when President Trump will ask for it, and what Republicans will do to sweeten the deal are open questions.
But one thing is certain: If Trump wants more money, it will have to go through at least some Democrats.
They already seem to disagree about what they can do. Some, including progressives such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), have vowed to vote against such a question before seeing it, arguing that the Pentagon is well-funded thanks to the passage of a “big, beautiful bill” and a defense spending bill that totals more than $830 billion a year.
“Republicans have already given $1 trillion to the military,” Warren told USA TODAY. “Nobody knows how much money is flying around there and where it’s being spent.”
Others, including Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, say they need to know more details before making a decision.
“We’ll have to see what they want,” he told USA TODAY.
The extent to which this chasm widens or disappears will be a crucial variable in the coming weeks in determining whether any additional funding bill except Certainty survives the narrow margins in the House and, more importantly, the 60-vote threshold in the Senate (in which Senate Republicans hold 53 of 100 seats).
Infighting among members of Congress could only get worse as regional wars escalate, potentially putting the U.S. military at greater risk and increasing the burden on Congress to ensure the U.S. military has the resources it needs.
At the same time, public opinion polls show that a majority of Americans are dissatisfied with the conflict. As the situation becomes bloodier, public pressure could build in the opposite direction, prompting lawmakers to push harder toward de-escalation rather than digging deeper into government coffers.
All of this is happening in a midterm election year, when voting by members of Congress is always closely monitored.
Although it’s early days, the war could cost taxpayers as much as $1 billion a day, according to some estimates, Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the House’s most senior Democrat, told USA TODAY. He did not say in the telegram how he would vote on the additional war spending bill, but said that no matter how much additional funding the Trump administration requests, it would be “a huge amount.”
“I’m not going to prejudge what I’m going to do,” he said.
Promoting agricultural subsidies?
The degree of Democratic (and Republican) support for an influx of war funds may depend on how large the bill becomes. Every time a must-pass bill passes Congress, it can grow as other policy priorities are added.
A senior Republican aide told USA TODAY that Sen. John Boozman (R-Arkansas), the Republican chairman of the Senate committee that oversees agriculture, is considering pushing an agricultural aid measure that could be attached to a supplemental defense spending bill. Producers of staple crops stymied by President Trump’s steep tariffs and widespread market disruption are pleading with agricultural state lawmakers in Congress for help.
However, potential add-ons are not yet decided. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) and other Republican Congressional leaders are leaving open their options on how to approach additional defense spending as they await further direction from the Pentagon and White House.
“Of course, further details remain to be determined, such as how long the operation will last and what it will entail,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson told reporters after a briefing on the situation in the Middle East on March 3.
The next day, in the halls of the Capitol, he said a war spending bill would only be passed “if it is appropriate and has the appropriate amount.”
Zachary Schermele is a Congressional reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach me by email at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him at @ZachSchermele on X and @zachschermele.bsky.social on Bluesky..
