Bennet and Van Hollen Vow to Block Funding Bills That Pay for Iran War as Dec. 11 Deadline Nears

The fight over the Iran war has moved from the campaign trail to a hard date: government funding runs out Dec. 11.

Two Senate Democrats have now put a marker down. Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado sent a letter to his colleagues on Saturday, Nov. 7, urging them to refuse cloture on any package carrying Iran war money. "We must refuse to invoke cloture on any package that includes another cent for his war," Bennet wrote. He said he will vote against any continuing resolution that includes Iran funding, and he is working to rally his colleagues to join him.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland went further in a video posted Tuesday, Nov. 10. "Not a penny more," he said. "If President Trump wants to tell the country that he'll shut down the entire government, all federal agencies, in order to keep his illegal war going, that's his decision."

Van Hollen put the war at 255 days old and noted that Trump had said it would be over in a matter of weeks.

The math behind the threat

A funding bill needs 60 votes to clear the Senate. That gives Democratic senators real leverage before their new majorities take office in January.

Bennet's letter calls for the Senate to "act in a bipartisan manner to forcefully reject the Administration's request for additional funding for the Iran war, a war Congress never authorized and the American people do not want." Bennet also says the war has driven up the cost of gas, groceries and fertilizer while "achieving none of the goals he set out." Those are his characterizations.

Jeffries won't commit

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries declined Monday to say whether he would support holding up the spending bill.

"We're going to end the war in Iran one way or the other," Jeffries said. He added that the appropriations process was "in the hands of" Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut and Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the top Democrats on their chambers' appropriations committees.

That leaves a visible gap. Rank-and-file senators are drawing a line while the House leader, who is in line to be speaker, is deferring to committee leaders. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has not publicly stated whether he would use the Dec. 11 deadline to force concessions from Trump. He told Politico he was working with Murray to "get something done" on government funding before that date. In a joint statement Monday, Schumer and Jeffries pledged to "stop the reckless war of choice in Iran," but did not say what action they planned to take. Van Hollen, who has suggested launching a leadership challenge against Schumer, gives his stance an internal-party edge.

Public opinion and the election

A Reuters/Ipsos poll released Monday found 71% of U.S. adults want Congress to pass legislation ending the war. That included 93% of Democrats and 51% of Republicans.

Asked what the new Democratic majority should prioritize in its first 100 days, 84% said lawmakers should focus at least "some" on ending the war, per the same poll. That included 74% of Republicans.

The administration's own side has tied the war to the election results. Vice President JD Vance wrote on X on Nov. 4: "The reason we lost is the war. The president said so last night." Democrats flipped more than three dozen Republican-held seats and regained control of the House, according to Colorado Politics.

Some Republicans are also uneasy. Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado told CNN: "I am a no on any war supplementals." At a debate last month she said she never wanted the U.S. in the war but stood by Trump's decision as commander in chief. "I hear from Republicans, unaffiliated (voters), and Democrats that they want this to come to an end, and so do I," she said.

Republicans want the calendar

Senate Republicans are not planning to coast. A resolution adopted at their closed-door meeting Tuesday commits them to "maximize the 54 days we have with congressional majorities." The goals are to confirm every judicial and executive nominee the conference approves, pass core GOP priorities and "do everything humanly possible to pass a reconciliation bill before Jan. 3."

Majority Leader John Thune, re-elected as Republican leader Tuesday, said that means "extending the calendar here, the number of days we're here, the number of hours we're here, the number of votes we may end up taking." On reconciliation he told Fox News Digital the package must stay "pretty narrow" to have any chance.

Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who chairs the Budget Committee, said he intended to present his plan to Republicans at their lunch meeting Wednesday. He said it could include funding for states for election integrity measures, tied to another attempt at the SAVE America Act. Defense funding is also on the Republican to-do list. Thune acknowledged that reconciliation could be another landing spot for Pentagon dollars, but said he hoped Democrats would choose a different route.

What comes after January

Beyond December, House Democrats plan early votes on healthcare and on legislation to stop the Iran war and reverse some of Trump's tariffs. Jeffries said Democrats will "get out of the gate fast."

The Senate's 60-vote threshold and a presidential veto stand in the way. Trump posted a photo of a red hat reading "VETO" on election night.

What remains open is whether Democratic leaders in either chamber will formally adopt the Bennet-Van Hollen position before Dec. 11.