THE ignorance and stupidity of the drumpf / trump-vance administration, especially that of NOT MY pres drumpf / trump, NOT MY vp vance, Sec of Defense fascist fotze trunt petie lola hegseth and Sec of State fascist fotze trunt little marco rubio, is well documented in this from Occupy Democrats followed by the articles from Mother Jones and Common Dreams. Please take the time to e mail your representative and senators telling them they must vote no on the demand for an additional $200 BILLION just for this illegal and immoral war on Iran. My e mails are at the end of this post.
Trump Wants $200 Billion for Bombs. Here’s What That Could Buy Instead.
7 years of free school lunches. 3 years of Medicare dental coverage. 2,000 Trump heads on Mt. Rushmore.
“It takes money to kill bad guys.”
That’s how Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth justified reports that the Pentagon is requesting $200 billion in additional funding to pay for its offensive in Iran, where, as of this writing, more than $18 billion has already been spent to kill thousands, with no end in sight.
Here at Mother Jones, we started to wonder: If the Trump administration weren’t so hellbent on “death and destruction,” at a moment rife with rising inflation and recession concerns, what else could $200 billion deliver? A lot, it turns out. We broke down a few line items below.
2.8 million public school teacher salaries
2,857 luxury 737 jets, bedroom included
378 years of federal public broadcasting funding
500 more White House ballrooms
4 years of a fully-funded National Institutes of Health
2 million Kash Patel trips to Milan by private jet
16.2 years of IRS funding, at pre-Trump levels
40 percent of Greenland, if it were for sale
2,666 Melania sequels
16.9 TSA budgets
2 Warner Bros.
1,779,628 Washington Post salaries
182 million miniature busts of Mount Rushmore with Trump’s face added
2,341 Trump heads on the real Mount Rushmore, space permitting
200 years of free New York City buses
Refund 70 percent of the tariffs the Treasury Department collected illegally
Restore Trump’s cuts to clean energy projects, 6 times over
247 Consumer Financial Protection Bureaus
1.4 billion pairs of Florsheim dress shoes
6.6 years of fully funded school lunches for every public school student in America
3 years of dental coverage, finally included in Medicare Part B
4,347 birthday parades, road repairs included
A lifetime supply of period products more than 100 million Americans
1.4 years worth of annual ACA subsidies
90 percent of Americans’ roughly $220 billion in medical debt
10 years of paid family leave funding
Approximately 1 tank of gas, when this is all over.
Correction, March 20: This article has been updated to clarify the total cost of ACA subsidies.
‘Hell No’: Pentagon Wants Over $200 Billion to Fund Trump’s Illegal Iran War
“We are seeing the Iran war become a quagmire in real time,” said one analyst.
The Pentagon reportedly wants Congress to approve more than $200 billion in supplemental funding for US President Donald Trump’s unauthorized and deeply unpopular war on Iran as the administration weighs deploying thousands of additional troops to the Middle East, signaling a drawn-out conflict and a possible ground invasion.
The Washington Post reported late Wednesday that the Pentagon has asked the White House to sign off on the supplemental funding request as the financial and human costs of the Iran war balloon. The $200 billion figure, which drew immediate backlash and vows of opposition from several Democratic lawmakers, is quadruple the number widely floated in recent days as the department’s likely supplemental request.
“This should be an absolute nonstarter,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) in response to the Post’s reporting. “The best way to end this war, protect our troops, save civilian lives, and rein in a lawless administration is to cut off funding. I’m a hell no.”
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) wrote on social media that “at the height of combat the Iraq War cost around $140 billion per year.”
“If the Pentagon is asking for $200 billion they are asking for a long war,” Gallego added. “The answer is a simple no.”
Any funding package would need 60 votes to get through the US Senate, requiring some Democratic support. As of this writing, neither Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) nor House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) has responded to reports of the Pentagon’s request.
The Post reported Wednesday that “it remains unclear how much the White House will ultimately ask congressional lawmakers to approve,” and that “some White House officials do not think the Pentagon’s request has a realistic shot of being approved in Congress.”
Prior to the start of the Iran assault, Trump called for a $1.5 trillion US military budget for the coming fiscal year even after the Pentagon failed its eighth consecutive audit.
The Pentagon’s push for $200 billion in Iran war funding comes after US investigators reportedly determined that American forces were responsible for the bombing—on the first day of the war—of an Iranian elementary school that killed around 175 people, mostly young children.
News of the Pentagon’s funding request came as Reuters reported that the Trump administration is “considering deploying thousands of US troops to reinforce its operation in the Middle East, as the US military prepares for possible next steps in its campaign against Iran.”
“The deployments could help provide Trump with additional options as he weighs expanding US operations, with the Iran war well into its third week,” Reuters reported. “Those options include securing safe passage for oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, a mission that would be accomplished primarily through air and naval forces, the sources said. But securing the Strait could also mean deploying U.S. troops to Iran’s shoreline, said four sources, including two U.S. officials.”
“The Trump administration has also discussed options to send ground forces to Iran’s Kharg Island, the hub for 90% of Iran’s oil exports,” Reuters added. “One of the officials said such an operation would be very risky. Iran has the ability to reach the island with missiles and drones.”
Dylan Williams, vice president for government affairs at the Center for International Policy, said Wednesday that “we are seeing the Iran war become a quagmire in real time.”
“Asking US taxpayers to spend $50 billion on a war Trump claims we have already won was outrageous enough,” said Williams. “Quadrupling that within a week shows a total lack of understanding or control over what he has gotten us into.”
Foreign policy journalist Laura Rozen, author of the Diplomatic newsletter, wrote Wednesday that “Trump blundered into what he thought would be a few day ‘excursion’ as he calls it, maybe Venezuela 2.0.”
“That is not what Israel had in mind, the military has hit all of its targets,” Rozen added. “He has no idea what he is doing, his intelligence and other aides were appointed not to tell him anything he does not want to hear; not a single one of them can explain what the goal is. Congressional Republicans have their heads deep in the sand, and now talk of a $200 billion Pentagon supplemental and sending more potential ground troops.”
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, highlighted the Post’s reporting on social media and called $200 billion “the tip of the iceberg.”
“Ordinary Americans can thank Benjamin Netanyahu and his lackeys in Congress for the trillion-dollar ‘Israel First tax’ that’s about to hit the US economy,” he wrote.
- NEXT UP
- ‘Not Another Penny for Another Endless War,’ Ilhan Omar Says as Trump Seeks $200 Billion | Common Dreams ›
- ‘People Can’t Afford Healthcare’: Sanders Rips Pentagon Request for Another $200 Billion | Common Dreams ›
- Opinion | $200 Billion for Trump’s Iran War Is Beyond Grotesque | Common Dreams ›
- MY E MAILS TO REP SUBRAMANYAM D-VA 10TH
- I expect you to vote NO on the additional $200 billion or any additional Pentagon funding the drumpf / trump-vance administration is asking for for their illegal and immoral war on Iran. There is no legal or moral justification for these funds given the lack of adequate funding for social safety net programs as well as the American social contract programs such as education, health & human services and environmental protection to name a few. I also expect you to work with the entire Virginia congressional delegation to vote NO on additional funding for this illegal and immoral war. And I expect you to tell House Minority Leader he must oppose all additional funding for this illegal and immoral war on Iran if he wants to hold any leadership position in the new House after the 2026 Midterms.
- Thank you
- MY E MAILS TO SEN WARNER D-VA AND SEN KAINE D-VA
- I expect you to vote NO on the additional $200 billion or any additional Pentagon funding the drumpf / trump-vance administration is asking for for their illegal and immoral war on Iran. There is no legal or moral justification for these funds given the lack of adequate funding for social safety net programs as well as the American social contract programs such as education, health & human services and environmental protection to name a few. I also expect you to work with the entire Virginia congressional delegation to vote NO on additional funding for this illegal and immoral war. And I expect you to tell Senate Minority Leader Schumer he must oppose all additional funding for this illegal and immoral war on Iran if he wants to hold any leadership position in the new Senate after the 2026 Midterms.
- Thank you
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