Senate GOP bucks Trump’s Cuba push as Pentagon blows through 4 years of funding in 1

U.S. President Donald Trump, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio attend the UFC 327 event at Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, U.S., April 11, 2026.

As President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio express interest in a military operation in Cuba, Senate Republicans “are cautioning” the administration not to order strikes against the regime, The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports.

Earlier this month, Trump teased military action in Cuba, telling the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches in Florida, “we will be taking over [Cuba] almost immediately.” His remarks came days after Senate Republicans rejected “an effort to advance legislation that would bar U.S. military action against Cuba without Congress' green light,” Axios reported at the time.

Now, Republican senators appear to be changing their tune, citing Trump’s extended military conflict in Iran, a ballooning Pentagon budget, and interest in fulfilling the president’s stated “America First” agenda.

“I think right now we’re focused on where we are and that is trying to get the Strait of Hormuz opened up,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told The Hill when asked about potential military strikes on Cuba.

Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) was even clearer in his opposition to an attack on Cuba, telling The Hill he “would not” support military action against the regime. Lankford argued the “economic pressure” that’s already placed on the Cuban government “makes a big difference by itself.”

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) likewise argued against military action in Cuba, insisting economic pressure is the appropriate course of action.

“I want less war, not more,” Paul said. “I’m not for a war with Cuba. Cuba right now, economically, is suffering from the blockade, but I think they were suffering even before the blockade because of socialism.”

The Trump administration faces economic pressure of its own, the Hill reports, thanks in large part to its extended war in Iran.

According to the report, with the current conflict in Iran, “the Trump administration will spend all of the $150 billion the One Big Beautiful Bill Act allocated for the Pentagon by the end of 2026 — funding that was initially projected to last more than four years.”

That figure doesn’t include a potential military operation in Cuba. As Bolton writes, “the Trump administration has floated the possibility of requesting an $80 billion to $100 billion defense supplemental spending package to cover the costs of the war with Iran, but it still hasn’t sent a formal offer to Capitol Hill.”

“A growing number of Republican lawmakers are voicing skepticism about passing a third reconciliation package to cover defense needs before the November midterm election,” Bolton notes.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon appears to be pushing ahead with an aggressive posture towards Cuba.

“In recent days, the U.S. Navy and Air Force have increased the number of intelligence gathering flights off of Cuba’s coast, renewing speculation that Trump could order another surprise operation similar to the one that led to the capture [of] Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January,” the Hill reports.

That military push has even Trump's staunchest Senate supporters on edge.

For Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), while he “[trusts] the president and Secretary Rubio’s instincts … at this point I think I’d rather see less conflict than more given what’s going on in the world.”

Senate Republican Policy Committee Chair Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) also told The Hill that Cuba is “way down the list, even if it’s on a list” as the administration continues its war in Iran.

“I just think we got to concentrate on what’s going on in Iran,” Capito said.

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