By Yoko Kubota

Republicans on Sunday sought to bolster morale and public support for President Trump and the war, building on the dramatic rescue of fighter jet crew members. "There's just so many heroes in this story," said Sen. David McCormick (R., Pa.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "I think we've made enormous progress" in the war, McCormick said on Fox News Sunday. Trump "has taken leadership to systematically eliminate this threat to America's allies, to the American people," he said, referring to Iran's nuclear activities.

Democratic lawmakers also commended the rescue mission. But they signaled opposition to the $1.5 trillion in defense spending that Trump is seeking as part of the 2027 fiscal year budget proposal. "I think this war was a mistake in large part because of the cost," said Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee. "If we're going to keep going, I think we ought to raise taxes and pay for it, instead of just putting it on a credit card," Smith said on NewsNation's "The Hill Sunday." Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia also said it's hard to justify the significant increase in defense spending. "We don't need to deploy more Americans into harm's way in a war that lacked a rationale and that lacked a plan," he said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 05, 2026 16:17 ET (20:17 GMT)

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