Hawaii Senator questions 'moral clarity' as Pentagon seeks $200 billion for Iran operation
The Pentagon recently asked for $200 billion from Congress to sustain its military exercise in Iran, and Democrats have been critical of the request, calling the conflict a "war of choice" and saying that the money could be used for social security and healthcare services. In a blistering critique of the Trump administration, Democratic Senator from Hawaii Brian Schatz took to his X account and echoed the sentiments of several of his colleagues. "For the amount of money the Pentagon is requesting for this insane war, we could eliminate hunger in America for a decade. The problem in our country is not a lack of money, it’s a lack of moral clarity," Schatz wrote on X.
Schatz has also been vocal about the situation of TSA workers as customers waited for hours in lines at airports due to the lack of employees on duty. This has been a direct consequence of the partial government shutdown, with Democrats refusing to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) until reforms are made to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). President Donald Trump recently announced that ICE agents would now be posted at airports to help customers go about their business more quickly. The Hawaii Senator had some strong opinions on the matter.
For the amount of money the Pentagon is requesting for this insane war we could eliminate hunger in America for a decade. The problem in our country is not a lack of money, it’s a lack of moral clarity.
— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) March 22, 2026
"Our bill funds TSA and TSA only, and was rejected on a party-line vote on Saturday. Defunding TSA, then deploying ICE agents to airports, taking Homeland Security anti-drug trafficking agents off the job, reassigning them to ICE, taking Border Patrol away from the border - it's a mess," he wrote in a separate post on X. Earlier, he had posted that he would vote yes to pay TSA workers to get them back on duty.
Today there is a roll call vote on paying TSA workers. No tricks, no other issues. Up or down. Pay them or not. I’m a yes. And because no other issues are covered in the legislative text, it is not very easy to explain voting no, other than using big words about unrelated stuff.
— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) March 21, 2026
The Hawaii Senator followed in the footsteps of several of his Democratic colleagues to speak out against the Pentagon's $200 billion request. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries slammed it as well. He claimed that the Trump administration was busy cutting costs in key areas only to fund the war in Iran. "They took $186 billion away from hungry children, veterans, and seniors in America to give ICE a $75 billion slush fund to brutalize and kill American citizens, to give their billionaire donors a massive tax break, and now they want to come back to the taxpayers for an additional $200 billion for a reckless war of choice," he said.
Donald Trump and Republican extremists started a reckless war of choice in the Middle East.
— Hakeem Jeffries (@RepJeffries) March 21, 2026
Gas prices are way up, billions are being wasted and our country is less safe.
We need regime change in America.
However, Trump loyalists have justified the request, citing threats to national security. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth recently claimed that such a critical war effort required funds. "It takes money to kill bad guys," he said. "So we will be going back to Congress and our folks there to ensure that we are properly funded for what's been done, for what we may have to do in the future."
