Senate Democrats Are Split Over Supplemental Funding for the War in Iran

Though Senate Democrats continue to publicly oppose the Trump administration’s war in Iran, some say they won’t rule out voting for a supplemental funding request from the Pentagon to support the operation.

First, though, they want more confidence that the administration has a clear goal.

“We have to have a plan,” Sen. Gary Peters told NOTUS on Tuesday. “I’m still not convinced that the administration has a plan to execute the rest of the war and have an exit strategy.”

No official ask has been made, but lawmakers emerging from a classified briefing last week told reporters that they expect President Donald Trump to ask for emergency funding to finance the operation. Officials anticipate a hefty price tag for the war, which Trump has said could last weeks. The Pentagon estimated that the first two days of the war alone cost $5.6 billion in munitions, the Washington Post reported Monday.

Any supplemental funding would need 60 votes to pass in the Senate, requiring some bipartisan support. Some Democrats have said they are open to approving that additional spending in order to ensure the safety of American troops.

“I’m not going to rule that out because I want to make sure that our military is safe,” Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin told reporters Monday of backing additional funding. “But I want a clear explanation of what our goal is. I don’t know what this administration is seeking in Iran.”

Sen. Chris Coons told NOTUS he has concerns that a vote for supplemental funding would act as a “backdoor vote for authorization.” But Coons said he’d like to find a way to ensure the military has the resources that it needs.

“I am open to hearing concerns after this war concludes about making sure we’re providing the munitions needed for our military,” Coons said.

Sen. Elissa Slotkin told reporters she’s “not yet” ready to vote to fund military action in the region, saying she has “about a million” questions for the Trump administration. But, Slotkin said, supplemental funding is not entirely off the table.

“I always will wait till I’m presented with a factual thing, not a theoretical thing,” Slotkin said.

One Democrat is unequivocally behind additional financing for the operation. Sen. John Fetterman, the only Democrat to vote last week against a war powers resolution that would have required congressional approval for further military action in Iran, told reporters on Tuesday that he has no qualms about backing additional spending for the war.

“I’m 100%,” Fetterman said of supporting supplemental funding. “I want to dare every [Democrat] in there to vote against supporting our military.”

But many other Democrats are shutting down the idea entirely as their base remains largely opposed to the military offensive.

Sen. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, warned that any approval of supplemental funding could be viewed as official congressional authorization of a broader war in Iran.

“It implicitly is an authorization, which I’m not prepared to support,” King told NOTUS on Tuesday.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal told reporters on Tuesday that he doesn’t see any justification for approving supplemental funding for the conflict. Blumenthal echoed other Democrats who said that they would need to see the Trump administration outline their “endgame” in the war before voting for additional spending.

“I would be very disinclined, given that the administration has offered no clear explanation for its objectives, for endgame in this war,” Blumenthal said. “And the military has denied there’s any shortage of munitions or supplies. So I fail to see what the justification would be for a supplemental.”

Sen. Andy Kim, who used to work for the State Department in Iraq, told NOTUS that the Trump administration is solely responsible for putting service members in harm’s way. He said that the pressure should fall on the Trump administration to find a way to fund an operation they started without Congress’ involvement.

“They didn’t come to us for approval, so why should I fund something that I find unconstitutional?” Kim said. “The onus is not on me. They’re the ones that have chosen to seek zero congressional approval for this … I’m sick and tired of hearing from so many of my former colleagues at the State Department that are feeling like they’re in harm’s way in the Middle East.”

Sen. Brian Schatz, the Democratic chief deputy whip, agreed with Kim, telling reporters on Tuesday that he would not consider voting for any additional funding for the war in Iran. He noted that Congress approved a funding package for the Department of Defense in February and Republicans passed a reconciliation package in June.

“They have money,” Schatz said. “They have $150 billion for the Department of Defense. They should use that money.”