The Trump administration’s Iran war is only days old, but deaths are mounting, including at an Iranian elementary school. 

The costs are also mounting. We’re still learning the full extent of the U.S. attacks on Iran, and Secretary of Defense Hegseth has been clear that the attacks - and therefore the costs - are still growing higher, saying “we’re just getting started.”  

And of course, the longer this goes on, the more it will cost.

For now, an early estimate provides a sense of the scale. Nancy Youssef at The Atlantic reported that “the preliminary Pentagon cost estimate of the war in Iran is $1 billion a day, a congressional official told me.”

That’s a lot of money. On an annual basis, it’s higher than the appropriated budget of any federal agency except the Pentagon itself. 

And that money could cover the things we need here at home.

Daily Iran war costs of $1 billion/day would be able to fully cover: 

• The daily costs of Medicaid for all 16 million people expected to lose it as a result of GOP budget cuts, AND 

• Daily food stamps for all 41 million people who rely on them.

The tradeoff is clear: the Trump administration - backed by several members of Congress - is cutting healthcare and food assistance for millions of families while spending $1 billion a day on this emerging war. The question isn’t whether the money exists - it's what we choose to spend it on. 

There’s never been a better time to call your members of Congress. We need to oppose this war before it’s too late.