The House of Representatives voted late Tuesday to force President Trump to end hostilities with Iran without congressional approval. A total of 220 to 204 saw seven Republicans depart from the White House stance to endorse the measure. The Congressional Budget Office said the conflict has already cost more than $38 billion as of August 1.
That monthly bill now runs between $2 billion and $3 billion depending on how hard the fighting gets. The agency projects this war will push inflation up by 0.5 percentage points by 2027.
Kentucky's Representative Thomas Massie put forward the resolution and earlier that day advocated for impeaching War Secretary Pete Hegseth. The seven Republicans who joined the Democrats included Tom Barrett, Warren Davidson, Brian Fitzpatrick, Nancy Mace, and Mariannette Miller-Meeks.
While lawmakers argued over war, a public spat erupted between the first sons over their recent weddings. Hunter Biden mocked Donald Trump Jr. for his lavish ceremony funded by a Russian oligarch.
Trump Jr. fired back at the artist, telling Yahoo! Finance that "Hunter should go back to painting." The Russian donor, Umar Kremlev, spent hundreds of thousands of dollars for the private island reception in the Bahamas.
Don Jr.'s wife, Bettina Anderson, thanked their friend on Instagram for the generosity. Following our wedding, she wrote that our dear friend Umar very generously hosted two incredible nights of celebrations for us.
President Trump and First Lady Melania did not attend the destination wedding, but Eric, Ivanka, and Tiffany were among the 50 guests, according to the New York Post.
The political focus remains on how the administration supports married families facing high costs. The New York Times reported that officials are drafting a rule to help low-income, married, stay-at-home parents. This move would let them qualify for federal childcare subsidies that usually go to single parents.
Vice President J.D. Vance is the main champion of this idea to end government discrimination against stay-at-home parents. In 2019, my organization, American Principles Project, issued a report titled "Family First: Reclaiming the GOP's Forgotten Constituency."
That report found that marital status is the most significant predictor of whether someone votes Republican. Married voters are the core base that the party must keep to win future elections. Facilitating for parents to exit the workforce and raise their children constitutes the goal.
Our voters suffer most from the affordability crisis, which the administration acknowledges as a genuine issue. Help is finally on the way for these families who built the foundation of the country.