Rep. Mark Harris, R-N.C., told Newsmax that Congress will likely have to approve additional Pentagon funding for the war with Iran, and he suggested Republicans may need to use the budget reconciliation process if Democrats remain opposed to the Trump administration's request.
In an interview with “Wake Up America” on Friday, Harris said lawmakers should be prepared to move a supplemental package to ensure the military has the money needed to continue the fight, while also identifying offsets to cover at least part of the cost.
"Well, I do think that we're going to have to look at how we're going to do something like this," Harris said.
"And, you know, the Democrats have been so united on trying to stop everything that this president has tried to do, so we may very well, as we look at a supplemental, have to do it through reconciliation."
Harris added, "I know there's been conversations of a reconciliation package 2.0, and we're in a position, if we had to do something like that, perhaps we could."
He also said Congress should look for savings elsewhere before approving new war money.
"But I do think that we're going to need to look for some pay-fors," Harris said.
"We're continuing to find waste, fraud and abuse, and I think that we're going to have to look for those ways that we can put this together in a responsible way and make sure that we do finish the job."
Harris' comments come as pressure builds on Capitol Hill over the cost and scope of the U.S.-Israel campaign against Iran, which the Pentagon says began Feb. 28 under Operation Epic Fury.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday there is no set timetable for ending the war and acknowledged the Pentagon is going back to Congress to make sure it is "properly funded" for what has already been done and what may still be required.
Hegseth also did not deny reports the administration could seek roughly $200 billion in additional funding, saying, "As far as $200 billion, I think that number could move," in remarks at the Pentagon on Thursday.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said last week that a military supplemental tied to the Iran conflict is "inevitable," though he said the House was still waiting for the White House to formally transmit its request.
The funding debate is unfolding as lawmakers remain divided over Trump's war powers and the long-term cost of the conflict.
The House on March 5 narrowly rejected a resolution that would have halted President Donald Trump's attacks on Iran, underscoring the GOP leadership's ability, for now, to hold most Republicans behind the military operation.
At the same time, the conflict has rattled energy markets and raised fresh worries about inflation.
Oil prices surged above $100 a barrel after the war disrupted production and shipping in the Middle East, and the International Energy Agency said this month that damage to regional energy infrastructure and the near halt of tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz were straining global supply.
Harris said those price shocks are painful for families and businesses, but he argued the administration must continue pressing forward.
"So everybody's feeling the pinch," Harris said, "but it is going to be a short term period here, hopefully, in order for a long term solution."
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Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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