US lawmakers responded to reports that the Pentagon is preparing for weeks of ground operations in Iran, as thousands of US troops assemble in the Middle East and the conflict showed signs of entering a new, more dangerous phase. On Sunday, Lankford was asked if the president needed congressional approval to deploy US troops in Iran. Trump has said the additional funds were being requested “for a lot of reasons, beyond even what we’re talking about in Iran”. “The whole world knows that a nuclear armed Iran would have been a danger to the world,” he told ABC News. Maryland senator Chris Van Hollen told ABC’s This Week he hoped an additional Pentagon budget request would not pass in Congress.

Source: The Guardian March 30, 2026 04:50 UTC