For Immediate Release:

June 24, 2026

Contact:
Gabe Murphy
gabe@taxpayer.net

Washington, D.C. – In response to the White House formally requesting an $87.6 billion supplemental war funding package, Taxpayers for Common Sense (TCS) president Steve Ellis released the following statement:

“The Trump Administration failed to seek or receive congressional authorization for the Iran War. Now, it is asking Congress to hand over $88 billion to help pay for it.

“About six weeks ago, the Pentagon put the cost of the Iran War at $29 billion. Now they want more than twice that? Either the administration wasn’t being honest about the costs then, or they aren’t being honest about the costs now. It’s not like operations picked up over that time and much of it has been covered by a tenuous ceasefire. Regardless of the precise costs, the Pentagon already has more than enough funding to cover it.

“The Pentagon is currently sitting on over $100 billion in unobligated funds from budget reconciliation enacted a year ago. The need to address certain munitions shortfalls resulting from the war is real, but the Pentagon already has plenty of funds to do so, and any future investments beyond that should happen through the regular budget process, not through a partisan reconciliation bill or a slapdash supplemental.

“The Pentagon is seeking a record $1.15 trillion base budget for the coming year, a $250 billion increase over this year, and an additional $350 billion through reconciliation. Congress should reject all three of these unjustified requests and trim the Pentagon budget down to size.

“The supplemental isn’t just about the Iran War either. It’s become Christmas in July with $10 billion in ‘temporary economic assistance’ to bailout agriculture from the effects of the president’s trade and shooting war, an additional $1.1 billion in subsidies just for farming operations in Florida, and half a billion for dubious restoration and construction projects around D.C. If enacted, this will make 10 consecutive years in which ‘emergency’ unbudgeted farm subsidies have been shoveled from the Federal Treasury on top of already generous farm bill handouts.

“The nation is nearly $40 trillion in debt. That’s not just a fiscal problem; it’s a national security threat. Reining in the debt requires reining in the only federal agency that’s never passed an audit: the Pentagon. Rejecting this supplemental request is a national security imperative.”

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Taxpayers for Common Sense is a nonpartisan budget watchdog committed to eliminating wasteful spending and promoting fiscal transparency and accountability.