Warren Presses Trump Administration on Mounting Costs to American Families from President’s Illegal War with Iran

Warren Presses Trump Administration on Mounting Costs to American Families from President's Illegal War with Iran

"The President should end this illegal war as quickly as possible to prevent further loss of life and geopolitical harm - and so American families do not have to pay the price for his reckless and chaotic military interventions."

Text of Letter (PDF)

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, wrote to Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent, White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, and Acting Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers Pierre Yared, raising concerns about the financial costs for American families from President Trump's illegal and reckless war with Iran that has already led to 13 American servicemembers deaths, dozens more wounded, hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths, and millions of people displaced from their homes.

In the letter, Senator Warren warns that the administration is pouring billions into a conflict that threatens to increase the cost of food, fuel and other items, with no plan to protect Americans from higher costs.

She details how the war is hitting household budgets from multiple directions:

• Higher Energy Costs: "The U.S. war with Iran has effectively halted all shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, removing roughly one-fifth of the world's oil and gas supply from the market. As a result, gas prices have skyrocketed," she wrote. "This burden will fall hardest on low- and middle-class families… In addition to increasing costs at the gas pump, these elevated oil prices are expected to drive up home heating costs, adding further pressure on utility prices that have already soared by 10.9 percent under President Trump."

• Higher Food Prices: "While the U.S. does not directly import large quantities of fertilizer from the Middle East, our domestic fertilizer market is sensitive to the global supply chain and price movements in the region… The disruption is hitting just as U.S. farmers prepare for the planting season, when farmers rely on fertilizer most," the Ranking Member emphasized. "Higher fertilizer costs and decreased food supply will ultimately lead to higher grocery prices for American families."

• Higher Retail Prices: "As crude oil prices rise, the cost of refined fuels such as gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel rises as well, meaning households see higher prices not only at the pump or on airline fares, but on retail goods as delivery firms and other fuel-intensive industries face higher operating costs. Diesel powers the trucks, trains, and farm equipment that move goods through the U.S. supply chain. Since the conflict escalated, U.S. diesel prices have jumped sharply, rising above $5 for the first time since 2022 from $3.69 just one month ago."

• Increased Economic Uncertainty: "Instead of addressing the economic pain he's caused, the President is pouring billions into a conflict that will drive up inflation and stifle growth," wrote the Ranking Member. "The list of economic consequences goes on and on. The global implications of the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz threaten to disrupt supply chains - causing shortages and raising prices - across a wide range of industries, such as electronics, automotive manufacturing, and critical medical supply chains. And it does not appear that the Trump Administration has any meaningful plan to keep prices low or prevent Americans from running low on the goods they need to work, go to school, and feed their families."

The Senator concluded: "The cruel irony is impossible to ignore: for more than a year, this administration has been systematically cutting the very programs that lower costs for American families - while now showing no hesitation to spend tens of billions of federal dollars on an illegal war that inflicts additional harm on families and economies at home and abroad. The President should end this illegal war as quickly as possible to prevent further loss of life and geopolitical harm - and so American families do not have to pay the price for his reckless and chaotic military interventions."

Senator Warren requested written responses from the President's top economic advisers by April 10, 2026.

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