The Senate Democrats Open to Helping Trump Fund His War on Iran

Despite expressing frustration over Donald Trump’s war with Iran, some Democrats are still considering voting to boost military spending by billions of dollars.

At least four Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee haven’t ruled out additional funding for the Department of Defense: ranking member Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island and Senators Gary Peters of Michigan, Tim Kaine of Virginia, and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan.

“I need to know the goals and the plan … I don’t rule anything out,” Slotkin told Politico. “I mean, we’re in it.”

“We have to look at what they need,” Reed said. “Some of it might be to fill in critical issues and other theaters of war they’ve taken things from.”

Defense and intelligence officials told Congress this week that the Pentagon may soon ask for emergency funding, but didn’t say when or how much it would need, although Politico reports that the White House is considering asking for $50 billion. But while some Democrats are open to new military funding, seven Democrats are needed to overcome a filibuster—and many others are not only skeptical of additional funding but outright hostile to the idea.

“Good luck. What Democrat is going to vote to fund an illegal war? I don’t think—with the exception of one Democrat—there will be any votes for it,” said Senator Chris Murphy Wednesday, likely referring to Senator John Fetterman, who was the lone Democrat to vote against a war powers resolution Tuesday requiring Trump to seek Congress’s approval for further military action in Iran.

Democrats in the House also scoffed at the idea of funding the war in Iran further.

Representative Pete Aguilar of California said he has “a duty and a responsibility to help protect this country” but is “incredibly skeptical” of giving emergency military funding for Trump. “It’s going to be pretty hard to move me off of a ‘no,’” he said.

“I mean, you lie to us, don’t consult us and then expect us to send more taxpayer money to a war that we shouldn’t have started with no plan and no answers,” said Representative Pat Ryan of New York, a military veteran. He called the $50 billion figure “outrageous.”

Several Senate Democrats left a Tuesday classified briefing on Iran aghast at the lack of planning by the administration, openly accusing the White House of lying, and worrying about whether ground troops would be deployed. To fund the war would require their concerns to be addressed, but even then, it won’t change the fact that Trump started a dangerous war on a whim.

The Trump administration is panicking over oil pricing spikes caused by the war it started on Iran.

An anonymous energy industry executive told Politico that Energy Secretary Chris Wright, a team led by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, and other top energy advisers on Trump’s team “are getting screamed at to find some good news” regarding bringing down gas prices. “Folks are scrambling for announcements and messaging to counter the narrative” of more expensive gas in the immediate future, the executive added.

The U.S-Israel joint attack on Iran and Iran’s subsequent retaliation on energy facilities across the Middle East has caused crude oil prices to rise by over $10 per barrel, causing pump prices to hit their highest peak since Trump’s inauguration.

Gas was already extremely expensive, even as Trump claimed the opposite. Earlier this week, the president dismissed the entire notion of the spike, stating that “if we have a little high oil prices for a little while, but as soon as this ends, those prices are going to drop, lower than even before.”

“Trump’s war in Iran (which is ‘not a war’) throws affordability out the window. Oil prices spiked this week to the highest since … the last time Trump bombed Iran,” political commentator Brian Tyler Cohen wrote Wednesday on X, referring to another massive spike in oil prices in June 2025. “He knows exactly what he’s doing to you and he doesn’t care.”

But now it seems that the Trump administration is moving more urgently to bring the prices down, even offering the military to protect oil tankers traveling through the Strait of Hormuz, as Iran stated that it’d be bombing any that passed through. And that still may not be enough. Only time will tell how long Americans will put up with Trump losing them money at the gas pump.

President Donald Trump’s illegal and expensive war in Iran could stretch on until September—just in time to hand Republicans a win for the upcoming midterm elections.

U.S. Central Command requested the Pentagon dispatch more military intelligence officers to its Florida headquarters in order to support operations in Iran for at least 100 days, but likely until September, Politico reported Wednesday.

Trump had previously indicated that he hoped the conflict would last only four weeks—but clearly the military is operating on a more expansive timeline, as continued strikes from the U.S. and Israel spiral out into a larger regional conflict with a climbing death toll.

Trump’s military campaign in Iran reportedly cost taxpayers more than $5 billion within the first three days alone. Representative Joe Morelle, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, has warned the war could cost up to $1 billion per day. Therefore, U.S. Central Command is currently planning for a war that could cost between $100 billion and $180 billion, or more.

The timing of Trump’s war may also read as convenient for Republicans who must gird themselves for a tough battle in the midterm elections. Ahead of November, Democrats have continued to gain momentum, and Trump’s approval rating has hit a second-term low, signaling what could be a disaster for the president’s party.

While Trump seems to have plans in the works to influence, interfere with, or even cancel the midterm elections, perhaps he hopes to hand Republicans a victory ahead of what is shaping up to be a bloodbath for their majorities in the House and Senate.

That could just as easily backfire.

Americans don’t typically love when the government spends billions of dollars on something they didn’t vote for. And win or lose, Republicans can’t really take credit for Trump’s military campaign in Iran because they have nothing to do with it. Trump seemingly declared war without congressional authorization—just one reason why his actions are blatantly illegal.

President Trump may be fed up with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

Punchbowl News reports that the president is asking his Republican allies in Congress whether he should fire Noem, following her contentious hearings on Capitol Hill this week, including one where she said the president approved a controversial government ad campaign starring herself.

On Tuesday, Noem was asked by Republican Senator John Kennedy about the $220 million ad campaign, which he said seemed to boost her national profile.

“The president approved ahead of time you spending $220 million running TV ads across the country in which you are featured prominently?” Kennedy asked Noem during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. She replied yes, and said that it was legally cleared.

“Did the president know you were gonna do this?” Kennedy followed up. Noem replied yes, and affirmed her answer when Kennedy seemed skeptical.

“They were effective in your name recognition,” Kennedy said. “To me it puts the president in a terribly awkward spot.”

This reportedly irked the president enough to question Noem’s future in the administration. The contract for the campaign, which was filmed at Mount Rushmore, went to a company only eight days old and run by Ben Yoho, the husband of former DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin. Yoho’s firm received over $226,000, despite the company having no website, no experience, and quiet contracts.

On top of that, during the House Judiciary Committee’s hearing on Wednesday, Noem was confronted about her rumored affair with her top aide, Corey Lewandowski, and she lashed out at Representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove over it.

“I’m shocked we’re going down and peddling tabloid garbage in this hearing,” Noem said, without denying the rumors.

The affair between Noem and Lewandowski, who are married to other people, is considered the worst-kept secret in Washington, D.C. But if Trump decides that Noem’s many misdeeds at DHS (and personal slights to him) have become too much to deal with, the affair will be the least of her problems.

The firefighter and Marine veteran who was dragged out of a Wednesday Senate war powers resolution vote for yelling, “No one wants to fight for Israel” is now facing criminal charges.

Brian McGinnis, in full uniform, can be seen on video being grabbed by Republican Senator Tim Sheehy and three police officers. They lift him up in the doorway while he screams his protest, with his hand still in the doorway. Then a snap can be heard, as McGinnis’s arm breaks.

They eventually put McGinnis down.

“The senator broke his hand! A sitting U.S. senator just broke the hand of a Marine! Control your Senate!” a bystander can be heard yelling.

McGinnis later confirmed his arm was broken. Now, even with his injuries, he has been criminally charged with assault on a police officer and resisting arrest. The GoFundMe in his name has already raised $48,000. McGinnis is also apparently a Green Party candidate for Senate in North Carolina.

“Capitol Police were attempting to remove an unhinged protestor from the Armed Services hearing. He was fighting back. I decided to help out and deescalate the situation,” Sheehy later wrote on X. “This gentleman came to the Capitol looking for a confrontation, and he got one. I hope he gets the help he needs without causing further violence.” In no way did Sheehy de-escalate the situation when he ran over and grabbed onto McGinnis.

Many were quick to call out the symbolic irony of the event. The current war on Iran, which the U.S. even admitted was at the behest of Israel at least somewhat, is massively unpopular. A veteran making that statement in the halls of the Senate and being seriously injured for it only underscores the administration’s blind commitment to waging war.

“Republicans claim to care about our troops, but the moment a veteran speaks out against Israel they treat him worse than they treat actual criminals,” a large conservative X account wrote.

“This is very, very ugly. And no US Senator needs to inject himself into this situation, for the safety of everyone—including himself,” Independent Veterans for America founder Paul Rieckhoff wrote. “Just unnecessary and terrible to watch. This is what an America falling apart looks like.”

Even the contemptible alt-right commentator Nick Fuentes chimed in.

“This is just a picture of America right now. Which you have a U.S. Marine—these are the people actually prosecuting the war, actually fighting the war … and they’re being sent out now into yet another ridiculous regime change war in the Middle East for Israel. And that’s what the guy says, he says ‘look, we don’t wanna die for Israel,” Fuentes said. “And look at the way that he’s being treated. Literally dragged out of the chamber by the cops, a U.S. Senator jumps into action … they smash his hand in the door. That’s the picture of America. That marine is all of us.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s remark Wednesday about U.S. troops dying in the Middle East was so callous it reportedly stunned everyone—including Pentagon officials.

During a press briefing, Hegseth claimed that the press was only reporting on the deaths of American soldiers in order to “make the president look bad.”

“But when a few drones get through or tragic things happen, it’s front-page news,” he said. “I get it, the press only wants to make the president look bad—but try for once to report the reality.”

The Atlantic’s Nancy Youssef, who was present for the briefing, told her colleague that Hegseth’s comment “sent a stunned silence through the briefing room.”

She claimed that some members of Hegseth’s staff appeared to flinch at what he was saying, while others ducked their heads.

Youssef said that one person quietly but audibly remarked: “That was one of the most insulting things I have ever heard.”

Hegseth’s heartless remarks come as lawmakers warn that more U.S. soldiers are likely to die in Trump’s escalating military campaign in Iran. So far, six service members have died after a drone struck their makeshift operations center in Kuwait on Sunday.

Hegseth has repeatedly proven that he is a weak and frivolous advocate for Donald Trump’s illegal war in Iran, which has already spiraled out into a regional conflict. The secretary has failed to provide answers for entering a conflict without congressional approval and refused to clearly state U.S. objectives or even gesture at a timeline. Clearly, he’s more interested in using dead soldiers as a lever to whine about the media, and openly bragging about not following the rules of engagement.

On Wednesday, the Senate refused to block President Donald Trump from using further military force on Iran, as a war powers resolution failed by a vote of 53–47.*

Senator John Fetterman was the only Democrat to vote against the resolution. Senator Rand Paul was the only Republican to vote for the resolution. This was Congress’s first vote on the war.

The news came on the fifth day of a joint U.S. and Israeli bombing campaign on Iran. Prior to the vote, Trump ranted about Chinese windmills during a press conference and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the U.S. bombed Iran due to a “feeling” Trump had about an imminent attack.

* This story has been updated with a correct vote count.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem got hot under the collar when asked if she was sleeping with one of her employees.

Corey Lewandowski’s official title at DHS is that of an unpaid, temporary “special government employee,” but for years, the rumor around Washington has been that he’s also Noem’s paramour. Multiple sources told New York magazine’s Ben Terris last year that the two have a romantic relationship. Noem was spotted on Lewandowski’s lap during one conservative conference in 2019; a FEMA official later told Terris their entanglement was the “worst-kept secret in D.C.”

In a House Judiciary hearing Wednesday, California Representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove asked Noem if she has had sexual relations with Lewandowski during her time at DHS.

Noem reacted with indignation. “I’m shocked we’re going down and peddling tabloid garbage in this hearing,” she said, before proceeding to talk over Kamlager-Dove while the representative tried to reclaim her time.

“You should be able to answer … if someone is asking if you or any federal official is sleeping with their subordinate.… You should be wanting to answer that question,” Kamlager-Dove said.

“It’s garbage,” Noem shot back. “It’s offensive.”

With the help of Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, Kamlager-Dove reclaimed her time.

“It’s about your judgment and decision-making,” Kamlager-Dove said. “It’s about the 260,000 employees that work under you that want to make sure that you are giving information and making decisions clearly. It is about conflict of interest. It is about a national security risk.”

That Noem sleeping with an employee could present a national security risk may sound silly, but Lewandowski has already been handed inexplicable access to the department. Axios determined that Lewandowski has been present at DHS headquarters for far longer than his temporary contract permitted as a special government employee, while Politico reported that he has had oversight over six-figure DHS contracts in his role. Former DHS employee Cameron Hamilton told Terris that he was fired by Lewandowski while the latter sat and smirked from behind Noem’s desk.

So yes, Lewandowski already holds a concerning amount of power with DHS. Fortunately, Noem dodging questions about their relationship will only bring more scrutiny on how America’s top security official likes to mix business with pleasure. “Tabloid garbage,” indeed.

The Department of Homeland Security tapped a little-known ad firm to produce Kristi Noem’s multimillion-dollar ad campaign during the government shutdown last year. But when asked to explain her rationale before a House Oversight Committee hearing Wednesday, Noem was practically speechless.

Reading off a DHS notice, Colorado Representative Joe Neguse noted that the department had identified just four companies “out of the hundreds of thousands of companies in the United States” as potential hires for the campaign.

“One of those is this Safe America Media Company. Where is Safe America Media headquartered?” asked Colorado Representative Joe Neguse.

“I don’t know,” Noem replied.

DHS paid Safe America Media $143 million in no-bid contracts between February and August 2025 to produce a slate of anti-immigrant ads for ICE Barbie. Months later, ProPublica reported that it was unlikely Safe America Media, which was formed just eight days before it won the DHS contract, would have been able to handle a nine-figure government contract.

However, subcontractors are not required to be made public in federal contracting databases, effectively allowing the whopping taxpayer sum to vanish in an untraceable dark-money network. Exactly where and to whom Safe America Media dished out its millions is still unclear, though the consulting company behind one of Noem’s late 2025 videos spilled the beans.

The money from Noem’s agency was funneling directly into the pockets of her friends and allies at the Strategy Group, a group with myriad ties to the ex–South Dakota governor, including having once employed her alleged beau (Corey Lewandowski) and a CEO who is married to Noem’s ex-chief DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin.

Safe America Media, meanwhile, has no website, no experience, and quiet contracts. The only substantial evidence that the company actually exists at all is that it shares an address with a property owned by veteran Republican operative Michael McElwain.

“Is there a problem with this contract?” drawled the secretary.

“You want the American people to believe that this is all above board, that $143 million of taxpayer money just happened to go to this one company that doesn’t have a headquarters, doesn’t have a website, has never done work for the federal government before, and is registered apparently or attached to a residence from a political operative, and of course one of the subcontractors of that contract, as you know, is a political firm that’s tied to, to you back when you were governor of South Dakota?” pressed Neguse. “The reason why I ask these questions is because this is taxpayer money.

“Eventually the facts will become public in this regard.”

The House Oversight Committee voted Wednesday to subpoena Attorney General Pam Bondi over her handling of the government’s release of files relating to Jeffrey Epstein.

Five Republicans joined every Democrat on the committee to approve of the summons: Representatives Tim Burchett, Lauren Boebert, Nancy Mace, Michael Cloud, and Scott Perry. The Department of Justice has been under fire from Republicans and Democrats alike for redacting some files relating to President Trump and administration officials, yet leaving victims’ personal information and some explicit photos unredacted.

But recently, the DOJ was found to have removed 47,635 files from its publicly accessible archive, including files concerning allegations against Trump. Plus, Bondi has not acquitted herself well before Congress, having a disastrous hearing with the committee last month where she leveled insults at members of the committee and repeatedly dodged questions about Epstein.

Bondi will now have to sit for a closed-door taped deposition with the committee, not unlike former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Mace, according to PBS Newshour, wants to focus on Jeffrey Epstein. However, there’s a host of other issues with Bondi’s tenure heading the DOJ, including disobeying court orders and mass resignations across the department. Those issues are unlikely to come up in this deposition, though.

If Bondi chooses not to respond to the subpoena, the agency tasked with enforcing it is her own DOJ, meaning that the only thing compelling her to testify is reputation and appearance. Bondi has already ruined the DOJ’s reputation, and made a fool of herself before Congress. What will happen this time?

This story has been updated.