Republicans Eye Cutting Health Care To Pay For $200 Billion Iran War

HuffPost • March 31, 2026 • nation

Key Points:

Republicans are considering new cuts to health care and food assistance programs to fund an estimated $200 billion cost of President Trump's war in Iran, despite potential contradictions with Trump's "America First" message.
House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington suggested offsetting war costs by reducing spending on programs like Medicaid and food assistance, continuing a trend of welfare cuts previously used to fund tax cuts.
Democrats have criticized the plan, highlighting that millions have already lost health insurance due to past Republican actions, and argue that further cuts to fund the war are harmful and unpopular.
Republicans plan to use the budget reconciliation process to pass a comprehensive bill that includes war funding and Department of Homeland Security financing, though some GOP senators express concern about the bill's scope and prefer focusing on domestic affordability issues.
Internal GOP disagreements persist, with some senators skeptical about including major voting reforms in the reconciliation package due to Senate procedural challenges, making it difficult to unify the party around a single bill.

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