WASHINGTON — Rep. Mike Levin, a California Democrat who represents Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton and sits on the House Appropriations Committee, said Monday that President Donald Trump and Republican leaders are pouring billions of taxpayer dollars into an Iran war Congress never approved while offering Americans no relief at the grocery store, and he told voters the midterm elections give them the power to stop it.
Levin made the remarks in a post on X at 6:58 p.m. on Monday, October 12, 2026, three weeks before Election Day.
The Full Post
Levin’s post, in its entirety, read:
“Daily reminder that Trump and Republican leadership are spending billions of your tax dollars on military operations against Iran that Congress never authorized, expanding Stephen Miller’s mass deportation agenda, and funding the president’s own vanity projects, while doing nothing to lower your grocery bill or make your life more affordable.
This November, you can help put an end to it.”
The statement ties three themes together: the Iran war, the administration’s immigration enforcement push led by White House adviser Stephen Miller, and spending on what Levin calls the president’s vanity projects. It frames them against the cost of living. The closing line points voters to the November 3 midterm elections as the means of changing course.
How the War Began and What It Has Cost
The United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28, and Trump announced the start of what he called “major combat operations.” Levin issued a statement the same day, saying the language described “sustained warfare” rather than a limited strike, and that “launching an open-ended campaign requires congressional authorization.” He called for a prompt War Powers vote, adding, “When we take that vote, I will oppose a sustained war in Iran.”
The cost Levin refers to has grown with each official estimate. The Pentagon’s chief financial officer put the figure at about $25 billion in late April, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told a Senate committee in July that the war would cost at least $37.5 billion through the end of September. The Pentagon has since told Congress’s defense oversight panels the total reached $43.6 billion as of September, its highest official estimate to date. The Congressional Budget Office put the cost at $38.1 billion through July, and the Pentagon has requested $67.1 billion in supplemental funding.
Levin’s Record on the Iran Conflict
Levin’s objection has centered on the constitutional question of who may take the country to war rather than on Iran’s nuclear ambitions, which he has described as a genuine threat. After the June 2025 U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, he said, “We cannot allow any president to entangle the United States in another deadly and open-ended war without constitutional authority,” while adding, “Iran must never obtain a nuclear weapon.” Trump has said his key aim in the current war is preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon with its highly enriched uranium.
On March 5, Levin voted for a War Powers Resolution to require the president to withdraw U.S. forces from Iran unless Congress authorizes the conflict. In a statement after the vote, he said Trump launched the operation “without a declaration of war, without an authorization from Congress, and without a coherent explanation to the American people.” He said he voted “to reassert what the Constitution has always required: that in this democracy, no one person decides when this nation goes to war.”
Congress Pushes Back, With Limited Effect
Congress has since taken up the question repeatedly. On June 3, the Republican-led House approved a war powers resolution 215-208, with Republican Reps. Tom Barrett, Warren Davidson, Brian Fitzpatrick and Thomas Massie joining Democrats, Reuters reported. On July 23, the House passed another, 214-208, introduced by Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington. The Senate voted 49-47 the same day to block its own version, Reuters reported. Reuters described the House votes as largely symbolic, since a resolution must also pass the Senate and survive a likely presidential veto to take effect.
Miller’s Deportation Agenda and the Vanity Project Charge
Levin has also targeted Miller’s deportation agenda. On May 6, he released an Immigration and Customs Enforcement letter showing 16,368 removals in the San Diego area between January 20, 2025, and April 1, 2026. “I suspect these high numbers are part of Stephen Miller’s demands to meet high detention quotas,” Levin said, adding that “Donald Trump and Stephen Miller’s mass deportation agenda has ripped families apart and created fear and chaos in our communities.” He said ICE was still withholding information, including the criminal records of those removed, and that he would keep pushing for public reporting from the agency.
Levin’s post does not say which projects he means by “vanity projects.” The most prominent target of that criticism has been the White House ballroom, built on the site of the demolished East Wing. The president has said it is privately funded, while Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer has called it “a boondoggle, a vanity project.”
Accountability Efforts and the November Stakes
Levin has not introduced articles of impeachment over the Iran war or Miller’s policies, based on a review of his official releases. His record on presidential accountability dates to Trump’s first term: he supported an impeachment inquiry in July 2019, both articles of impeachment that December, and a January 2021 article of impeachment for incitement of insurrection. His 2026 efforts have been through war powers votes, oversight letters and public statements. In February, he called Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s visit to the Otay Mesa detention facility “nothing more than a staged photo op” and said the administration should negotiate bipartisan immigration legislation instead.
Levin is also on the ballot himself. He faces Republican Armen Kurdian in California’s 49th District, which covers northern San Diego County, and his seat shifted left under the state’s new map. Nationally, the Polymarket prediction market, as of Tuesday, put the odds of Democrats winning the House at 91%. The market’s own summary cites low presidential approval, voter dissatisfaction over inflation and tariffs, and the Iran conflict, and notes Democrats need to flip only a handful of seats. Polymarket odds reflect trader sentiment rather than an official forecast, and the election is November 3.