From center left: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Massachusetts), Sen. Chris Coons (Delta), and Sen. John. Ossoff, Democrat of Georgia, and Sen. John Hickenlooper, Democrat of Colorado, during the State of the Union address at the Capitol in Washington on February 24, 2026.
Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Senate Democrats on Tuesday pushed back against President Donald Trump’s claims that the Iran war could soon end, warning that the United States risks becoming drawn into a new long-term conflict in the Middle East.
The concerns expressed by Democrats who attended a secret bipartisan briefing with military leaders on Tuesday stand in stark contrast to the president, who suggested on Monday that the U.S. may be nearing completion of the operation. President Trump’s comments caused a slump in the market to soar, and oil prices, which had soared in recent days, soared.
The senators were briefed as the Trump administration continues to vacillate between explanations, goals and timelines for the war that has killed eight U.S. service members and killed Iran’s longtime leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said, “What I heard is not only alarming, it’s alarming.” “We don’t know what the endgame is, we don’t know what their plans are. … And if he wants to put us in a forever war, which he appears to be doing, he’s got to come out and let us have that conversation.
“Do you think everything is going to stop because you thought he was waving a magic wand? … Everything is not going to stop just because he wants it to be that way,” Rosen said.
Democrats’ pessimism about the eventual end to America’s war against Iran, which it started with Israel, comes as Congress awaits a possible request for additional funds to fund the attack. The effort has burnt up billions of dollars in U.S. munitions that will need to be replenished. Some Democrats said they would resist requests for more funding. Democrats are also displeased with President Trump’s failure to seek Congressional approval to start a war.
“At this point, I’m a firm no to supplements,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee. “We don’t need any more money. The only power Congress has is to use the power of its wallet to stop this kind of behavior.”
“This is not a war that this country supports, and this is not a war that will make us safe,” Warren said.
Lawmakers leaving the meeting said the size of a potential additional package had not been disclosed. Republicans, who hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate, signaled at the end of the conference that they would support further funding for the war effort.
“That’s not the total amount I’ve heard,” said Republican Sen. Jim Banks. “Obviously there’s a cost, but the payoff has been exponentially greater, and so far it’s been a very effective operation.”
“We need to do whatever it takes to accomplish the mission and do it as quickly as possible,” Banks said.
The Washington Post reported Monday that the military burned through $5.6 billion in munitions in the first two days of the war, which began on Feb. 28. The Center for Strategic and International Studies, a nonpartisan Washington-based think tank, estimates that the war costs about $891 million per day.
Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), a former Navy SEAL, suggested the cost is worth it.
“Iran has been at war with us for 47 years, and we are trying to end this war,” Sheehy said, referring to the first few years of the Iranian regime. “Two presidential administrations have given billions of dollars to Iran, but that’s what really cost them.”
President Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth are painting a different timeline for the war than Democrats say they are concerned about. Hegseth pledged at a news conference early Tuesday that the United States would not enter another protracted conflict in the Middle East, and President Trump said Monday that the war would end “soon.”
As the war drags on, costs are expected to only increase, and Democrats warn there is no end in sight. A prolonged war could cause markets to rebound sharply, and oil prices could continue to rise, especially as the Strait of Hormuz, which carries about 20% of the world’s oil, remains largely impassable.
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, said there was “no discussion” about the safety of the passage at a news conference he attended.
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), a former Navy captain, also said after leaving the meeting that the U.S. does not appear to be nearing an end to the war.
“Clearly they don’t have a strategic goal,” he says. “They don’t have a plan, they don’t have a schedule, so they don’t have an exit strategy.”
Correction: This article has been corrected to reflect that Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., is a former Navy SEAL. A previous version incorrectly identified the branch of the military in which he served.
