U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 27, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
President Donald Trump continues to downplay the seriousness of America’s unprovoked attack against Iran, but as the military faces a potential weapons shortage, his Republican Senate colleagues are all but admitting they are facing “a massive operation.”
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) described the U.S.-Iran conflict as “a massive operation” which is “rapidly changing,” according to Politico. The staunchly pro-Trump Republican added that the conflict sounds “very open-ended to me.”
Similarly, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) told Politico that legislators who normally oppose spending increases are willing to make an exception so that Trump has enough weapons to complete his mission in Iran. “I think it would have the support of Republicans,” Johnson said on Tuesday night when asked about a supplement funding request.
He added, “Everybody always wants money, any excuse, whether they’ll need it or not. My guess: They’ll need it. We’re shooting off a lot of ammo. Gotta restock.”
By contrast, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told reporters Tuesday that he has doubts about the wisdom of sending more weapons to the Iran war.
“Before you can feel satisfied about a supplemental — and I haven’t seen it — you have to know what the real goals are and what the endgame is,” Schumer said.
Conservative commentator William Kristol, writing for The Bulwark, shared Schumer’s doubts about the overall wisdom of the Iran war, pointing out that the president has yet to provide a consistent and cogent explanation for the attack.
“Why did we go to war four days ago?” Kristol asked. “And why are we going to continue this war, apparently for weeks or longer? The Trump administration can’t answer either question.”
Former Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.), who entered Congress in 2010 as part of the right-wing Tea Party movement, wrote on his Substack last month that Trump supporters who backed him because he said he would end all wars are acting like a “cult” by supporting him despite his belligerent actions and rhetoric against Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, Greenland, Gaza, Mexico and elsewhere.
“I thought you wanted him to end wars all over the world,” Walsh wrote. “You said you wanted him to end American entanglement in conflicts and wars around the world. America shouldn’t be involved in these wars, you said. That’s why you’re voting for Trump, you said.” He concluded by rhetorically asking, “What else are people to think when you voted for Trump to get us the hell out of wars around the world, and instead he gets us involved in wars around the world and starts new wars, and you still sing his praises and support him? What are we to think, MAGA, but that you are a cult?”
The Bulwark’s Sarah Longwell broke down on Tuesday how Trump’s Iran war highlights deep fissures in his MAGA coalition.
“Nothing has shifted more in the Republican Party over the last decade than its views on foreign policy,” Longwell explained. “The Republican Party has just become very isolationist, especially among younger voters. And I think you can see this in polling, but we certainly hear it in focus groups with younger voters across the political spectrum.”