The first six days of Donald Trump’s war on Iran cost a whopping $11.3 billion, according to a Pentagon report submitted to Congress earlier this month. And that’s just the beginning – costs are expected to continue to rise exponentially.
On Wednesday (March 18) the reported “Washington Post”, The Defense Department will ask Congress for $200 billion in additional funding for the Iran war. The campaign is already taking its toll at home: thirteen soldiers have died, hundreds more have been injured, and the Iranian blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has driven up global oil prices – with foreseeable consequences for other goods such as fertilizers and medical chemicals.
The war has already left large sections of Republicans feeling betrayed – after all, Trump ran his campaign on an anti-interventionist, anti-war America First agenda. An open, bottomless pit that devours billions is diametrically opposed to its supposed brand essence – especially since he and his government are constantly preaching the need to cut “waste” and streamline the federal apparatus.
DOGE and the austerity hypocrisy
The first six months of Trump’s second term in office were characterized primarily by merciless cuts and mass layoffs under the aegis of Elon Musk and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The ministry ended up burning over $20 billion in taxpayer money – an amount that is likely to rise given a wave of lawsuits, inefficiencies caused by mass layoffs, and severance pay and compensation for those affected. As the war rages in Iran, DOGE employees are simultaneously being questioned in hearings about their alleged misuse of sensitive data.
With the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” passed last year, Congress supported Trump’s plan to make his first-term tax breaks permanent for billionaires and the super-rich – while at the same time making massive cuts to the social safety net. The 12 percent cut to Medicaid is expected to deprive about 10.9 million Americans of health insurance coverage by 2030. Millions lost their food aid. The Defense Department, on the other hand, received an additional $150 billion and the Department of Homeland Security $170 billion for border security and the expansion of the ICE immigration agency. And the Defense Ministry under Hegseth is also spending tens of millions to rename itself the “Department of War.”
It has rarely been so obvious that the government’s complaints about austerity measures were nothing more than a pretext – to enrich the rich at the expense of the weak. As Americans watch their tax dollars go up in smoke in the Middle East, here’s a look at what the federal government could have spent the money on instead:
Healthcare
Last year, Republicans in Congress phased out increased federal subsidies for health insurance purchased through the Affordable Care Act (ACA), resulting in skyrocketing premiums for millions of Americans. Current studies already show that up to one in ten people who previously had ACA insurance are now without health insurance.
According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), an extension of increased subsidies for a full decade Costed $350 billion – a two-year extension would have only required $60 billion.
Child care
In January, the Trump administration announced it would cut $10 billion in funding for child care and other social programs in five states: New York, California, Illinois, Minnesota and Colorado.
The administration justified the move by saying that “Democrat-led states and governors have condoned massive fraud” and said it would ensure “that taxpayer dollars are used for legitimate purposes. We will ensure that these states comply with the law and protect taxpayers’ hard-earned money.”
Several states are suing against the withholding of the funds. New York Governor Kathy Hochul called the decision a “shabby revenge.”
Medical debt
The total medical debt of the American population is around $220 billion. With the amount that the Pentagon wants Congress to approve for the war, all of America’s hospital debts could be wiped out in one fell swoop. All.
Foreign aid
The Trump administration has ruined much of the federal foreign aid infrastructure by dismantling USAID, a sprawling international development agency with an annual budget of about $23 billion before it was wound up. Trump succeeded in destroying one of the most effective global aid organizations of all time – according to estimates, this could cause up to 9.4 million deaths worldwide by 2030.
In June, the government sought to reclaim over $8 billion in foreign aid, including money for global health programs, humanitarian assistance and international civil society. Major programs such as the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria were severely impacted by the cuts.
Food aid
When Congress passed Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, $186 billion was cut from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) – the largest food assistance program in the country. The cuts are spread over the period from 2025 to 2034, i.e. around $20.6 billion per year. In addition, there are millions who were thrown out of the program due to new work obligations.
The Pentagon’s current spending on the Iran campaign shows that in less than a month of war, the Trump administration has spent $13 billion more than it “saved” in an entire year by cutting food aid to poor and starving Americans.
Public broadcasting
Trump signed a law last July that cut $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting – after which it decided to dissolve in January. After Congress approved $500 million in cuts to public broadcasting in August, the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) slashed its budget by over 20 percent. The traditional channel, which is responsible for classics such as “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood”, “Sesame Street” and “Arthur”, had to lay off over 100 employees.
Early childhood education
The Trump administration cut $315 million in preschool funding, saying it had been undermined by “DEI” ideology. That’s a fraction of what the government spent in the first week of the war.
Help for people with disabilities
Last year, the Department of Health and Human Services announced it would disband the Administration for Community Living (ACL). The program, which, among other things, provided transportation and nutritional assistance through services like Meals on Wheels for the elderly and disabled, lost $2.4 billion from its budget.
If billions for a war against Iran seem absurd to many Americans, Congress seems to feel the same way. Lawmakers from both parties are publicly speaking out against another blank-check war in the Middle East and are already announcing their “no” to the Pentagon’s $200 billion request.
“I’m against it. I’ve already told leadership. I vote against any war supplementary budget. I’m so tired of sinking money over there,” Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) told CNN. “I have people in Colorado who can no longer afford to live. We need America First policies now.”
Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) questioned the administration’s actions in a separate CNN interview. “We’re talking about ground forces. We’re talking about these types of extended operations. That puts us in a completely different league,” he said. “You have to give a lot more briefings and explain a lot more – how we are going to pay for this and what the mission is here.”
In a social media post earlier this week, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) listed some things that would have cost less than the $22.8 billion already spent on the war at that point. “Medicaid for 6.8 million children. Build public housing for 2.6 million. Fund Head Start for 1.3 million. Hire 240,000 teachers. Forgive $20,000 in student debt for 1 million borrowers,” he wrote.
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) complained that the Trump administration had the audacity to ask Congress to authorize additional spending after starting the war without its approval. “We voted in plenary not to even publicly discuss this invasion of Iran. Now comes a price tag of $200 billion. That is unacceptable,” he told reporters. “This war is tremendously expensive, and the President has sacrificed many priorities for America and its families to invade this country. This will cost us enormously – starting with American lives.”
