Democratic lawmakers have demanded a formal reckoning of the costs and results of a surprise US attack on Iranian nuclear sites last month with mixed success, as misgivings with the strikes persists in some quarters of Congress.
As Congress works through the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), two prominent Democrats have pushed for legally binding disclosures related to the June 22 strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites.
Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA), who frequently crosses partisan lines to vote with Republicans, introduced an amendment requiring the Department of Defense to disclose all costs associated with the strikes. It passed on Wednesday.
“The American people deserve to know how much we spent, and how much our increased troop and force deployment to the Middle East will cost taxpayers,” Khanna wrote on X.
Another Democrat and more strident critic of President Donald Trump, Representative Jerry Nadler (D-NY), proposed an amendment calling for a full battle damage assessment (BDA) of the strikes.
His proposal would have required the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Secretary of Defense to deliver the assessment within 90 days. It did not pass amid Republican opposition.
“The Republican majority is refusing to consider my amendment to the Defense funding bill on Trump’s failed strike on Iran and the disastrous consequences of his withdrawal from the Iran Deal. What are they trying to hide?” Nadler wrote on X, referring to a 2015 international deal from which Trump withdrew in his first term.
Lawmakers reacted swiftly to the President’s surprise announcement of the strikes last month. Republican hawks largely celebrated the move, while many Democrats voiced strong criticism.
An initial Pentagon assessment suggested the attacks had only set Iran's nuclear program back by months, but subsequent analysis released by the Central Intelligence Agency said it would take Tehran years to recover.
