“I’m not planning to vote for anything that provides any funding to fuel the war in Iran,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen declared as progressive lawmakers mount a high-stakes campaign to starve the Trump administration’s military campaign of cash, Truthout reported.
The strategy, led by Van Hollen (D-Maryland) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-California), relies on stripping war funds from existing legislation and inserting strict stipulations that bar appropriated dollars from supporting military operations in the region. Rather than relying on traditional war powers resolutions that the executive branch might bypass, congressional Democrats are using the federal budget process—threatening a government shutdown if President Donald Trump refuses to pull back.
Using the Power of the Purse Against the Executive Branch
Lawmakers are drawing direct parallels to the legislative tactics used to end the Vietnam War in 1973. That year, Congress passed measures cutting off funds for bombing campaigns across Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, eventually overriding a presidential veto to enact the War Powers Act.
Khanna outlined the current objective on social media this week, writing that lawmakers should support a continuing resolution that explicitly prohibits financing U.S. military combat activities in Iran. With a sizable majority across both chambers of Congress following a midterm election cycle heavily influenced by voter backlash against the conflict, Democrats possess the procedural power to force a direct confrontation.
Federal funding is currently scheduled to expire on Dec. 11, creating a hard deadline for the legislative showdown. While Republicans maintain control of the House and Senate during the lame-duck session until newly elected members take office in January, the political fallout from the blue wave has left even members of the GOP acknowledging the war’s heavy toll at the ballot box.
Democratic Leaders Face Budget Battle Test
The looming budget battle could be an early test for congressional Democratic leaders Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-New York) as they vie to keep their leadership positions going into the new Congress.
Schumer addressed reporters on Wednesday, pledging that “we are going to end the war” and emphasizing that the legislative branch must utilize its constitutional spending authority to check executive military action. However, both Schumer and Jeffries have previously expressed strong support for Israel and, in their own ways, cheered the war — Schumer criticized Trump’s signing of a deal with Iran to end the war as “the art of surrender,” while Jeffries declined to rule out voting for a potential request from the Trump administration for more funding for the fighting.
Additional backing has quickly materialized among key committee leaders. Rep. Adam Smith (D-Washington), the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Connecticut), the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, have both thrown their support behind utilizing the power of the purse. Incoming Senator Abdul El-Sayed (D-Michigan) has also backed the effort.
Before the new Congress is sworn in, the lame-duck session must address the pending Pentagon budget bill, which in previous iterations allocated roughly $70 billion toward the Iran campaign. Van Hollen warned that failing to block those funds would break faith with the electorate.
“It would be a betrayal of the voters to be complicit in keeping the war going,” Van Hollen said.
