Congress may soon have to decide how to pay for the growing conflict with Iran.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Monday that appropriators are already discussing whether lawmakers will need to approve supplemental funding if the military campaign known as “Operation Epic Fury” stretches beyond its initial objectives.
“Our appropriators certainly asked that question,” Johnson told reporters after a classified briefing at the Capitol on March 2. He said final figures would depend on how long the operation lasts and what munitions and assets are required.
That comment may prove more consequential than the administration’s messaging about missiles and retaliation. If operations expand, Congress could be asked to approve billions in new spending at a time when the national debt exceeds $34 trillion and defense spending is already approaching record highs.
Act First or Pay the Price
Israel saw an existential threat, Johnson said, and was ready to move alone.
“If we had waited to respond before acting first, then those losses would have been far greater than if we had done what we did,” he said.
The speaker’s remarks echoed those of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who alluded during his own words to the press on Monday that the U.S. knew Israel was primed to attack Iran.
Johnson, too, added that intelligence presented during the classified briefing indicated Iranian retaliation against U.S. personnel and assets was likely if Israel launched a unilateral strike.
“I am convinced that they did the right thing,” Johnson said. “If the president, the commander-in-chief, had not acted as he did, those same officials would have been hauled in here by members of Congress and asked them why in the world they waited.”
The operation has already produced U.S. casualties as the campaign widened and retaliation intensified.
Mission: Missiles, Not the Regime
Johnson pushed back on assertions that the campaign seeks to topple Iran’s government.
“The objective was not regime change,” he said. “The objective was to take out those missiles, the short- and mid-range missiles and their ability to produce them.”
He said a second objective involved eliminating Iran’s naval capabilities tied to missile systems and production infrastructure, adding that U.S. forces are “well on our way” toward that goal.
The strikes have ignited fresh pressure on Congress to weigh in on the scope of presidential authority as the conflict expands.
