U.S. Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) is comparing the rising cost of President Trump’s war with Iran to Congress’s decision not to extend Affordable Care Act tax credits that helped millions of Americans pay health insurance premiums.
“Republicans let the ACA tax credits expire, sending healthcare premiums skyrocketing,” Gallego wrote on social media this week. “Then Trump started an illegal war in Iran.”
“Six months in, that war has cost $38 billion—almost exactly what it would’ve taken to extend those ACA tax credits for a year,” he added.
Republicans let the ACA tax credits expire, sending healthcare premiums skyrocketing. Then Trump started an illegal war in Iran, and gas and grocery prices followed.
Six months in, that war has cost $38 billion—almost exactly what it would’ve taken to extend those ACA tax… https://t.co/d3IqGGMg9C
— Senator Ruben Gallego (@SenRubenGallego) September 16, 2026
Congress allowed the enhanced ACA tax credits, which reduced premiums for people purchasing health insurance through federal and state marketplaces, to expire at the end of 2025.
Extending the enhanced ACA tax credits for a year was estimated to cost approximately $40 billion — nearly matching the $38 billion the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says the Iran war cost through August 1. The CBO also estimated that the war will cost an additional $2 billion to $3 billion for each month operations continue at the recent pace.
[NOTE: Gallego’s comparison does not mean that money appropriated for military operations could automatically have been transferred to ACA tax credits. The programs are funded separately. Gallego is arguing that the decisions demonstrate Congress’s spending priorities.]
The CBO estimate was prepared largely using publicly available reports, according to Roll Call, and included the cost of replacing munitions, restoring equipment, fuel, and additional military pay. It did not include the cost of repairing U.S. military facilities damaged by Iranian attacks, future medical and disability benefits for injured service members, foreign aid, or interest on money borrowed to finance the war.
[NOTE: The House voted 220–204 this week to direct Trump to end U.S. involvement in the war, the third time the chamber has considered such a measure. Seven Republicans joined every voting Democrat in supporting the resolution, which Trump is expected to veto, according to The Associated Press.]
“House Democrats just voted again to end Trump’s Iran War,” House Democrats wrote after the vote. “This costly conflict is driving up prices for families here at home and risking American lives.”
House Democrats just voted again to end Trump’s Iran War
This costly conflict is driving up prices for families here at home and risking the lives of our service members abroad. Enough is enough. https://t.co/Y8Vdh8PgZM
— House Democrats (@HouseDemocrats) September 16, 2026
U.S. Representative Ted Lieu (D-CA), an Air Force veteran, also responded to the CBO findings and called for a change in U.S. military planning.
“WE NEED AN ENTIRELY NEW DEFENSE STRATEGY,” Lieu wrote. “We need to upend the Pentagon’s proposed budget and start over.”
Lieu said the war demonstrated that the U.S. could not adequately defend its bases and allies or sustain its current rate of military operations.
WE NEED AN ENTIRELY NEW DEFENSE STRATEGY.
We need to upend the Pentagon’s proposed budget and start over.
The Iran war showed the US:
1. Cannot defend our bases.
2. Cannot defend our allies.
3. Cannot sustain a war.
And this is against a second rate Iranian military. https://t.co/8g87He1IJo
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) September 16, 2026
The expiration of the enhanced ACA credits produced an immediate increase in what many marketplace customers pay for insurance. Those costs continue to rise while the U.S. is also spending billions of dollars each month on the war. KFF reports that “ACA Marketplace insurers are proposing a median premium increase of 15% for 2027—indicating a likely second consecutive year of double-digit increases.”
