Senate Republicans have called out JD Vance’s reassurances about U.S. missile supplies after a closed-door briefing about Donald Trump’s war with Iran.
The White House wants $70 billion to cover the costs of a conflict that has now entered its sixth month despite Trump initially saying it would last for “a few weeks.” Senators have yet to move it. The vice president, 42, met Republicans in the Capitol’s Mansfield Room last week, where The Hill reports he dismissed talk of a munitions crunch as “misdirection.”
One senator in the room told the outlet that Vance left no space for doubt. “He was very bold that there was a misdirection and unfortunate misdirection that emboldens the enemy,” they told the outlet. “It emboldens the enemy if they think we’re out of ammunition.”
The U.S. might not be out of ammunition, but certain stockpiles are getting dangerously close to empty. Officials warned last week that the Pentagon has used up “virtually all” of its long-range missiles.
The depleted stockpiles, those sources told Reuters, could affect “the military’s readiness for future conflicts” and leave the U.S. open to attack from Russia or China. Those officials withheld their names for fear of reprisal from the administration.
GOP senators appear to have left their closed-door sitdown with Vance less than convinced of what the vice president had to say. “There’s a mixed message here,” one lawmaker told The Hill.
Trump, 80, has repeatedly dismissed concerns about the toll his war is taking on munitions and other military resources. He posted on Truth Social earlier this month that the U.S. has “massive amounts of ‘munitions’, especially of certain types,” without adding which types he meant. He said that “large amounts are being manufactured and shipped to the U.S. as needed.”
Senators also say that the president has no exit strategy for a war he has variously claimed would last just a few “weeks,” might stretch on “forever,” and was already “over.”
Wisconsin GOP Sen. Ron Johnson, 71, told The Hill on Thursday: “I don’t think anybody is satisfied with where things stand with Iran.”
The Daily Beast has contacted Vance’s office for comment on this story.
