Four senators are demanding that any deal to keep the federal government funded beyond December 11 must block money for US military operations in Iran, adding a new complication to negotiations over a possible shutdown. The group — Colorado Senator Michael Bennet, Vermont independent Bernie Sanders, Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen and Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth — says Congress should not approve a short-term spending deal that keeps billions flowing to what they call the president’s war of choice.
The senators announced the demand on Thursday, in a joint statement timed to the lame-duck session now under way in Washington. Federal funding is scheduled to expire on December 11 unless Congress approves another spending measure, and none of the 12 annual appropriations bills for fiscal year 2027 has yet been enacted.
A funding fight with two fronts
Bennet had already urged colleagues in a November 9 letter to reject funding packages that would provide additional money for the conflict. The four senators now want language prohibiting appropriated funds from being used to continue US military hostilities in Iran, a restriction that would have to survive negotiations in a Congress still controlled by Republicans.
“As we approach the December 11 funding deadline, we should not accept a short-term spending deal that continues to provide billions of additional dollars for President Trump’s war of choice,” the group said in its statement. The demand adds another complication to negotiations that were already tight, with lawmakers facing a deadline and little time to agree a longer-term spending deal.
Shutdown risk grows
The government is currently funded by a continuing resolution that expires on December 11, freezing spending at last year’s levels. If Congress passes neither full-year bills nor another stopgap by then, a funding gap begins on December 12 and non-essential agencies begin to shut down.
Patty Murray, the incoming Senate Appropriations chair, wants a short stopgap running into January, according to reports, which would hand the fight to the new Democratic-controlled Congress that takes office in January. The lame-duck session gives outgoing lawmakers one final chance to reach a long-term agreement or extend the deadline into 2027 — but the Iran funding demand means the next few weeks of talks will be harder, not easier.
