Six months into Trump’s war with Iran, Americans are paying the price
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Six months ago, the Trump administration promised swift success when it launched a war with Iran. Instead, the administration dragged the United States into a widening Middle East quagmire with no clear path out, and Iran has emerged as the strategic victor. More than 50,000 U.S. troops remain deployed in the region, 18 service members have been killed, and nearly 500 service members have been injured.
And Americans are paying the price at home. The broader costs of the war—including military spending, higher interest rates, and higher prices for gas, groceries, and transportation—have topped $1,200 per household. Now, the administration is asking Congress for another $73 billion to fund its failed war.
So what has the war accomplished? Iran’s government remains firmly entrenched, its nuclear program has not been neutralized, and the administration has scant leverage to force Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The path forward is diplomacy—not more war. Preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon will require sustained negotiations, sanctions, and coordination with international and regional partners. No administration—current or future—should be able to abuse its authority and enmesh America in a war that neither Congress nor the American people want. The Trump administration has dragged America into another Middle East quagmire. It must be the last.
CAP IN THE NEWS: Trump wastes billions deploying National Guard troops to D.C.
In USA Today, CAP’s Chandler Hall and Nick Wilson explain how the Trump administration’s heavy-handed approach of using the National Guard, in combination with other federal law enforcement surges, has alienated local communities.
“No amount of legal intimidation or all-caps social media posts can erase the facts. The Pentagon’s recent extension of the controversial deployment in Washington, DC, through Inauguration Day 2029 proves what Trump sold to the public as a temporary response to a fabricated emergency has now been codified into an open-ended, multiyear federal mobilization in our nation’s capital.”
In fact, CAP’s analysis found no evidence that National Guard deployments have further reduced violent crime. The data clearly show that violent crime and homicides were already dropping in American cities such as Washington, D.C., Memphis, Tennessee, and Los Angeles prior to the first deployments. Moreover, if these deployments are extended and continue through the end of 2026, they could cost American taxpayers more than $1.7 billion.
