Senate Democrats block defense funding bill as Iran war escalates
HUNT VALLEY, Md. (TNND) — Senate Democrats, seething over the Trump administration’s revived war with Iran, blocked a traditionally bipartisan defense funding bill on Tuesday.
The Defense Department is seeking more than $1 trillion through a broad package that includes program funding, pay raises and policy directives as the ceasefire with Tehran ends. The administration’s hopes for the historically high request were suppressed on Capitol Hill, where a mostly party-line vote delayed passage of the National Defense Authorization Act, which usually succeeds with ease.
Forty-five Democrats voted against the legislation, preventing Republicans from overcoming the 60-vote barrier set for most bills. Majority Leader John Thune also voted “nay” to keep the act alive for later consideration. Democratic Senators John Fetterman and Alex Padilla, along with Republicans Mitch McConnell and Jim Justice, didn’t vote.
The administration restored its blockade of Iranian ports on Tuesday, escalating the war from a steady exchange of strikes that has continued from the early days of the so-called ceasefire reached in April. Tehran has also resumed attacks against commercial ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, the oil trade route playing a critical role in the global economy.
“Donald Trump is dragging America deeper into a war in Iran with no authorization, no plan, and no exit strategy,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement. “Democrats will not go along.”
The president hasn’t sought congressional approval for the war, straining relationships he has in both parties as lawmakers consider whether to advance his erratic priorities. It’s unclear when the Senate will reconsider the Defense Department’s funding request, but the war’s evolving nature may force Congress’s hand.
“But then again, Democrats have allowed the politics of obstruction to determine so many of their actions for the last year and a half,” Thune said in a speech ahead of Tuesday’s vote.
“I certainly hope that Democrats won’t now put politics ahead of support for our men and women in uniform. But that’s up to them.”
Republicans have struggled to square their support for Trump with the loss of their power, which has weakened with every failed Democratic measure aimed at reasserting congressional authority over war. The president, despite the passage of a largely symbolic resolution last month, has been able to continue the conflict mostly unchecked.
Since the first U.S.-assisted airstrikes in February, the American economy has been unable to fully recover from spiked gas prices and higher costs for everyday goods. The next few months may determine whether Democrats have enough material to weaponize in midterm elections that could hinder Trump’s final two years in office.
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