U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) used a four-line post on X on Thursday to blame President Donald Trump’s wars, tariffs and policies for rising costs across American households. She said they are benefiting his billionaire donors. The post came seven months into the U.S.-Iran war, as gasoline sits above $4.40 a gallon and the national debt has crossed $40 trillion. It also arrived five weeks before midterm elections in which prediction markets give Democrats a 93% chance of winning the House.
The Post
Tlaib, who represents Michigan’s 12th District, published the message at 9:01 a.m. on October 1, 2026. It read in full:
“Gas is too expensive.
Groceries are too expensive.
Utility bills are too expensive.
Housing is too expensive.Trump’s wars, tariffs, and policies are making life harder for you and easier for his billionaire donors.”
Prices at the Pump Seven Months Into the War
The U.S. and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran on February 28, in what the Pentagon calls Operation Epic Fury. Gasoline prices have been a central economic consequence since. AAA put the national average for regular gasoline at $4.4137 on Thursday and diesel at $6.3895. The national average began 2026 at $2.83 a gallon.
Prices peaked at $4.56 in May, according to AAA data. They eased after a ceasefire announced in April and an interim deal in June. They climbed back above $4 in July as the ceasefire collapsed and the two sides fought over the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway through which roughly 20% of the world’s oil traveled before the war.
What the War Has Cost Households and the Treasury
The Center for American Progress, citing the Brown University Iran War Energy Cost Tracker, reported that Americans had paid $87 billion in extra costs for gas and diesel as of August 19. That works out to more than $660 per household. The think tank also cited economist Mark Zandi’s estimate that the war has cost households at least $1,200 once higher grocery and energy prices are counted.
The federal balance sheet has moved too. The national debt passed $39 trillion in March, just weeks into the war, according to the Associated Press. It topped $40 trillion for the first time on August 19, according to Treasury data. The government now pays roughly $1.1 trillion a year in interest, slightly more than it spends on defense.
The Congressional Budget Office found the war directly cost nearly $40 billion through August 1, according to an analysis requested by Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee. The CBO estimated the war has cost about $2 billion to $3 billion more per month since. The figure excludes certain facilities costs and debt service. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told a July 21 Senate hearing the cost was $37.5 billion, and the administration has asked Congress for an additional $88 billion.
Tlaib’s Statements Since the War Began
Tlaib opposed the war from its first day. On February 28 she issued a statement saying, “The American people do not want a war with Iran.” She wrote that Trump was acting on the wishes of the American political elite and the Israeli government. She also called on Congress to reconvene immediately to exert its war powers.
In March, after the administration confirmed that a U.S. strike hit a school in Iran, Tlaib posted on X that the administration had lied about it. She wrote, “Trump should be impeached. Hegseth should be fired.” She said the administration must be held accountable in international courts.
Her focus on costs predates the war. In February, after the Supreme Court struck down Trump’s sweeping tariffs, she posted that tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China had raised prices on Michigan families. She contrasted “reckless schemes that inflate Trump’s ego” with real policies to address affordability. On June 24, she wrote that Trump had already admitted he “couldn’t care less” about affordability and urged him to sign a housing bill. It became law in July after he declined to sign it for 10 days.
On July 22 she announced she would vote no on what she called Trump’s $1 trillion war funding bill. “We must fund life, not death,” she wrote, adding that it fuels the war on Iran and enriches billionaire arms dealers. In a follow-up post after voting against the bill, she said the Pentagon budget is where the money for universal health care can be found.
On September 1, she voted against the Continuing Resolution funding the government. In a statement she said, “I refuse to give another dime toward Trump’s reckless war.” She wrote that residents are burdened by skyrocketing gas prices. The resolution included $839.2 billion for the Department of Defense, $8.4 billion more than requested.
The Billionaire Donor Argument
Tlaib’s claim that Trump’s policies favor wealthy donors echoes an earlier statement. After the July 2025 vote on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, she called the law “a gift to Trump’s billionaire donors” and said it transferred wealth from poor and working people to the billionaire class.
Independent analyses show the law’s tax cuts skewing toward the top. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy calculated that the law gives the top 1% about $117 billion in tax cuts in 2026 alone. The Center for American Progress found that a handful of its provisions send about $2.3 trillion in cuts mainly to the richest 10% of Americans. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said this week that California’s billionaires became $500 billion richer last year and pay a lower effective tax rate than a plumber or a nurse. The claim is his own, made while campaigning for a state ballot measure to tax billionaire wealth.
Congress, the War and the Midterms
Congress has struggled to restrain the war. The House passed an Iran War Powers Resolution 215-208 on June 3, with four Republicans joining all Democrats. The Senate adopted it 50-48 on June 23, and the White House said the measure has “no significance.” Since then the Senate has failed to pass another such resolution in three attempts.
The politics are shifting with the election five weeks away. Polymarket traders gave Democrats a 93% chance of winning the House in the market’s October 1st figures. These are market-implied odds, not election results, and they can change as trading moves. Midterm voting ends November 3. Republicans hold the House by a narrow margin.
The White House’s war funding request is unresolved. Congress has not approved the supplemental the administration sought on June 24, and one op-ed in the Washington Examiner argues that the decision has effectively moved to the post-election lame-duck session. With the war in its eighth month, Tlaib’s post is the latest sign that Democrats plan to run on costs. Tlaib says those costs trace back to the war, the tariffs and the tax policy she names.