Iran War: Congress Questions Costs
As Iran War Concludes, Congress Debates Cost and Consequences of Trump's Ending Deal
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The nearly four-month Iran war ended with lives lost, billions spent, and serious questions about who was in charge. Congress never authorized the conflict, yet never fully stopped it either. Now lawmakers must explain to voters what the country got in return, according to Herald Bulletin.
President Trump signed a 14-point peace deal at the G7 Summit in France on June 17, officially closing out "Operation Epic Fury," Politico reported. The deal includes a proposed $300 billion reconstruction fund for Iran — and has sparked fierce debate on Capitol Hill.
Congress Confronts a War It Never Approved
The war launched in February 2026 without a formal vote in Congress. Lawmakers on both sides raised concerns but never moved to block the strikes. Now, Newsday reports, they are left grappling with the consequences of a conflict they neither fully endorsed nor stopped.
Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) blasted the peace deal as "Pathetic. Failure... bad, bad, bad," according to KSAT. But Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), a past chair of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, pushed back. He said America is "safer today" because of the president's actions and argued that a total military victory was "always going to be very difficult."
The $300 Billion Fund for Iran Raises Alarms
The most contentious piece of the deal is a proposed $300 billion fund for Iran's reconstruction and economic development. Critics fear the money will flow to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its proxy forces — including Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis — regardless of how it is earmarked, Yahoo News reported.
Vice President J.D. Vance has tried to calm those fears. He said the fund would be financed by private investors and regional partners, not U.S. taxpayers. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, was not reassured. He warned the deal "negotiates away the victories of Operation Epic Fury."
The $1.5 Trillion Pentagon Bill Lands on Congress
The White House has asked for $1.5 trillion for the Pentagon in 2027 — a roughly 44% increase over prior years. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called it a "warfighting budget" needed to restock depleted weapons and munitions, according to KDVR. The four-month war burned through an estimated $29 billion to $40 billion in operational costs alone.
To pay for it, the White House has proposed $73 billion in cuts to non-defense programs, including Medicaid, Medicare, and infrastructure. On top of that, Republicans added extra defense funds to their 2025 tax cuts package. Twelve Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee voted against the budget — the highest opposition in recent memory, Click Orlando reported.
What Did the War Actually Achieve?
The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz has helped stabilize global oil prices — a clear win. But the U.S. military arsenal is reportedly "run low" after four months of intense bombing runs, leaving the country exposed if a new conflict emerges, Durango Herald reported. Pakistan, the UAE, and Qatar have all emerged as key players in the peace process, shifting diplomatic power away from traditional Western actors.
The White House frames the war as "America First in Action" — a strike against a 47-year threat without a massive ground war. Critics call it an illegal conflict that ended in a bad deal, one that offers Iran more economic relief than the 2015 nuclear agreement ever did, according to Click2Houston.
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