Skip to content
RollCall logo

Podcasts

Iran war funding dilemma

CQ Budget, Episode No. 406

President Donald Trump's request for supplemental Iran war funding has awaited congressional action since June. He is seen here at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas on Sept. 9.
President Donald Trump's request for supplemental Iran war funding has awaited congressional action since June. He is seen here at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas on Sept. 9. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
By John M. Donnelly and David Lerman
Posted September 21, 2026 at 3:04pm

The price tag of the Iran war is $43 billion and counting, but Congress has yet to agree on a funding plan. CQ Roll Call’s John M. Donnelly joins host David Lerman to discuss the latest cost estimates, projections of future costs and prospects for funding the war by year’s end.

Show Notes:

Recent Stories

A banner featuring a photo of President Donald Trump hangs outside the Justice Department in Washington on June 15.

DOJ sues California over mail ballots, alleging they were sent to noncitizens

Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., is seen outside the Capitol on July 25, 2024.

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz faces sex trafficking lawsuit

At the Races: Seeing red in Minnesota?

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., talks with reporters during votes in the Capitol on Sept. 30.

Calling off livestream of execution was right call, members say

Federal officials said the FBI is investigating a series of suspicious mailings. Above, sunrise illuminates the Capitol in September.

‘Suspicious substances’ target senators on anniversary of attack

Laura Lytle poses for a photo in the Ohio Clock Corridor in the Capitol on July 2, 2013.

Journalists mourn former press gallery director Laura Lytle