The administration finds tens of billions of dollars to fund a war that Trump started without congressional authorization, but told American families there is no money left for the programs they depend on every day.
The war keeps escalating, and the bill keeps growing:
- Seventeen American service members have died in the conflict, with more than 100 injured since early July alone.
- The war’s cost has jumped from $29 billion to $37.5 billion in a matter of months, and Hegseth admitted that number will likely rise again.
- The administration is now asking Congress for a supplemental package of more than $200 billion, on top of the largest defense budget in Pentagon history.
At the same time, the Trump administration claims there is no money for:
- Food assistance for struggling families, even as millions of Americans lose SNAP benefits under Trump’s own cuts.
- Child care support for working parents, after the administration froze billions in child care funding and proposed further cuts in its own budget.
- Housing assistance for people priced out of their communities, a program Trump’s own budget targets for billions in cuts.
- Healthcare tax credits that keep insurance affordable, which Republicans let expire and, as a result, premiums are now doubling for millions.
- Heating assistance for families facing high energy bills, a program Trump has now proposed eliminating for the sixth time.
- Medicaid coverage for millions of Americans, after Republicans cut roughly a trillion dollars from the program to help pay for tax breaks for the wealthy.
This war is getting more dangerous. It is getting more expensive. And it is getting less popular every day. American families watch MAGA Republicans fund a war overseas all while cutting the safety net they need to survive.
Watch Sec. Hegseth’s exchange with Sen. Durbin here.
Published: Jul 21, 2026