Two Democratic congressmen from California hosted a Capitol Hill press conference on March 17 to denounce the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran.
Citing 13 U.S. service members who’ve been killed and more than 140 injured, Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) said the money spent on striking Iran could have been used for food assistance and to bolster healthcare.
“We are in the third week of Donald Trump’s unilateral war in Iran with seemingly no end in sight,” Aguilar said. “Americans are mourning family members who died in the war that the Trump administration cannot explain.”
President Donald Trump pre-emptively struck Iran on Feb. 28, alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Israeli Defense Forces.
“The regime in Iran appears to be intact, but largely degraded due to attacks on its leadership and military capabilities,” she said. “Its conventional military power projection capabilities have largely been destroyed, leaving limited options.”
Trump and his administration have described the operation as a pre‑emptive effort to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons, arguing it addressed an “imminent threat.”
At the Capitol Hill press event, Aguilar said the cost of the war could have paid for extended Affordable Care Act tax credits and kept insurance premiums low for at least a year.
“Americans cannot afford doctors visits or groceries or gas and we are watching the Trump administration send more tax dollars abroad,” Aguilar added.
The Affordable Care Act subsidies lowered health insurance costs for some 22 million people, but they expired last year.
Aguilar, who serves as House Democratic caucus chairman, was flanked by his caucus vice-chair Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), who blamed the Trump administration for a deteriorating economy.
Iran’s most recent retaliatory strikes on commercial ships in and around the Strait of Hormuz have impacted the international transport of oil. As a result, Brent crude is priced at more than $100 a barrel.
The waiver allows foreign-flagged vessels to transport goods between U.S. ports. The suspension will apply to commodities, including coal, crude oil, fertilizer, natural gas, and refined fuel.
“President Trump’s decision to issue a 60-day Jones Act waiver is just another step to mitigate the short-term disruptions to the oil market as the U.S. military continues meeting the objectives of Operation Epic Fury,” Leavitt said on X.
Instead of impeachment hearings, which Aguilar thinks would be a distraction, he told reporters House Democrats have asked Trump to share his plan and strategy with Congress.
The Pentagon estimated that the cost of striking Iran reached $11 billion in the first week alone.
Reuters and Andrew Moran contributed to this report.
