Democrats to Halt Iran War Through Budget Cuts ... Another Airstrike on Iran This Year? [U.S. Midterms]

[Financial News] This month, Democrats won control of both chambers in the U.S. midterm elections and vowed to stop President Donald Trump’s war with Iran. Experts say about two months remain before the new Congress takes office, and are watching for changes in Trump’s Iran strategy in the meantime.
According to political news outlet The Hill, Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer (New York) spoke about the Iran war at a press conference on the 4th (local time), saying, “We will end the war.” Asked whether he would use the defense budget to stop the war, he said, “The Founding Fathers gave [Congress] the power of the purse as one way to restrain a president who wages war without the consent of the people.” He added, “Some Republican lawmakers have already joined the effort to end the war,” and said, “Americans don’t know what on earth we’re fighting for in Iran.” On the same day, Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries (New York) also said at a press conference, “We must end this reckless and costly ‘war of choice’ that has sent gasoline prices soaring.”
For the United States Congress to directly halt the government’s war effort, both the House and Senate must pass a resolution to stop the war, or Congress must pass a bill revoking the government’s authorization to use military force. Democrats secured enough seats for this in this month’s midterm elections. The problem is that President Trump could veto a resolution or bill passed by both chambers. To override a presidential veto, two-thirds of the members present in each chamber must vote in favor. Assuming every member is present, 290 votes in the House and 67 in the Senate would be needed to stop the Iran war. Even using the highest estimates, the number of seats Democrats won this month falls short of those figures.
Ultimately, the option available to Democrats is to cut off the Trump administration’s defense funding and prevent it from waging the war. In 1973, Democrats and some antiwar Republicans used this approach to block the Richard Nixon administration’s Vietnam War. At the time, Democrats pressured the administration by adding a provision to the budget barring the use of defense funds in Vietnam and nearby areas.
However, Democrats will have to wait until January 3 next year, when the new Congress begins, to use the budget to pressure the Trump administration. Experts abroad are watching closely for the possibility that Trump, who has refrained from large-scale airstrikes since last September, could launch another major attack on Iran before the end of this year. On the 4th, U.S. political news outlet Axios noted that the United States has three options: attack Iran again, negotiate, or maintain the status quo. A renewed attack on Iran would likely produce few notable gains compared with the previous strikes. On the 31st of last month, Trump argued that the United States should strike an underground Iranian nuclear facility known as “Pickaxe Mountain.” The United States also struck Iranian nuclear facilities in June last year, but failed to destroy all the nuclear material.
The second option is negotiation. In a statement on the 4th, U.S. Vice President JD Vance said the Iran war had led to a defeat in the midterm elections. He then argued, “We need to start an honest discussion about where to go from here.” Officials said Vance had advocated reaching an agreement with Iran in recent months.
Maintaining the current blockade operation is another option. According to Axios, aides including U.S. CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had earlier advised Trump to maintain pressure on Iran through a naval blockade and economic sanctions.

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