As Donald Trump wages his unpopular war of choice in Iran with no end in sight, his Director of the National Economic Council, Kevin Hassett, admitted this morning that if the conflict continues: “It would hurt consumers, and we’d have to think about, if that continued, what we’d have to do about that, but that’s really the last of our concerns right now.” 

The timeline of Trump’s war in Iran remains unclear. Just yesterday, Trump said the war could be wrapped up this week, but he didn’t think it would be. Prior to that, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the war could last, “four weeks, but it could be six, it could be eight, it could be three.”

Since Trump’s war in Iran began, oil prices spiked to nearly $120 per barrel, and according to AAA, today the price of a gallon of gasoline has risen to $3.79 nationwide — the highest ever under Trump, and a gallon of diesel has risen to $5.04, the second time on record that diesel has been higher than $5 per gallon. Americans today will spend $330 million more on gasoline than a month ago. 

In response, DNC Rapid Response Director Kendall Witmer released the following statement: 

“Donald Trump and his administration are openly admitting that their deadly and costly war of choice in Iran comes at the expense of everyday Americans. Trump’s economy has already made life unbearable for working families as prices soar and the job market tanks, and now prices at the pump are skyrocketing. Trump has not only jeopardized American lives abroad but has also left everyday Americans in the dust — and according to his cabinet — that’s the least of their concerns.”

At least 13 American service members have died, and over 200 service members have been wounded so far as a result of the conflict. 

Hassett confirmed that the cost of the war in Iran exceeded $12 billion in its first week. That is enough to cover a full year of health care for nearly 2 million Medicaid enrollees, feed over 2 million families enrolled in SNAP for a year, and fully fund 63 years of pediatric cancer research.