Congress not 'an ATM for a failed President': Rep. Jake Auchincloss on Pentagon's $200 billion war fund request

As the Iran conflict continues, President Donald Trump faces increasing criticism, particularly from Democratic lawmakers. But some Republicans have also not shied away from voicing their differences with the President. President Trump, who had campaigned on a pledge to stop "forever wars", is not ruling out the possibility of putting American boots in the Middle East. The Pentagon has also sought $200 billion to continue the campaign aimed at destroying Iran's ability to develop nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. Democratic lawmakers have promised to vote against any supplemental war funding that does not include a clear exit strategy. Defending the stance, Massachusetts Representative Jake Auchincloss asserted that Congress was not an "ATM" for a "failed President."   

Speaking in a televised interview, Auchincloss was asked if he thought it would be a better idea to approve the $200 billion for the war, with American adversaries like China and Russia keeping tabs. He responded by sharply criticizing the President's policies. "This is a tactic of failed presidencies for time immemorial, which is they make a mistake and then try to blame Congress, or blame others for not bailing them out of it. It’s not Congress's job to be an ATM for a failed President," he said. "It is Congress's job to embody the will of the American public. What the American public says is, they look at $200 billion, and they see that it could fund early education for every American child. They see that it could quadruple the budget of the National Institutes of Health, cure Alzheimer's disease, cure schizophrenia, and cure cancer." Auchincloss also questioned the President for failing to articulate the reason behind the U.S.'s military actions in the Middle East, or his exit strategy.

Currently, the Middle East conflict has crossed the 40-day mark with little clarity on the possibility of a ceasefire. President Trump has, however, claimed that "great progress" has been made, while at the same time threatening to attack Iran's energy and desalination plants if Iran fails to agree to a deal. "Great progress has been made but, if for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately "Open for Business," we will conclude our lovely "stay" in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!), which we have purposefully not yet touched," the President wrote in a post on Truth Social.