Published in the Omaha World-Herald.

Trump’s reckless war is costing American lives and raising prices.

Our troops deserve our utmost respect. Instead, the White House has gamified the war in Iran — posting videos that make it look like a video game.

Meanwhile, I and most Americans worry about and pray for the folks deployed overseas, the 200-plus Americans who have been injured, and mourn the loss of 13 Americans, including Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens from Bellevue.

The regime of recently assassinated Ayatollah Khamenei is evil. For many years they’ve oppressed and murdered their own people, sponsored terrorism around the globe, and have been trying to develop nuclear weapons. But we are being led into war by a President and Defense Secretary who are motivated by chaos and corruption, and led by “gut instincts.”

The cost of Trump’s war on the American people is immense. It’s estimated that the war is costing American taxpayers $1 billion a day.

And now Trump is demanding $200 billion more to pay for even more weapons.

One day of war could pay the salaries of more than 150,000 teachers for a full year. The cost of a month of this war is roughly the same as the cost to extend the ACA tax credits that helped millions of Americans pay for health insurance, an amount Republicans said they didn’t have when refusing to extend the credits.

On top of that, we’re all paying more at the gas pump because the price of oil keeps going up.

And gas prices will continue to go up because this President has created the largest disruption to oil production in history. Just three weeks since the start of the war, the cost of gasoline has increased by over $0.80 per gallon, and if the war continues, we can expect it to rise more than $1 a gallon. That means people can expect to pay $15 more for a tank of gas.

The cost increases don’t stop at gas. Diesel and airplane fuel costs are also rising, so anything that gets on a plane or a truck before being delivered is going to cost more. Rising oil prices also raise the cost of plastic and other materials.

And of course, these high prices cool the economy. People will skip road trips this summer or skip going out to eat, hurting small businesses. Nebraska’s agricultural economy and our food supply is at risk as fertilizer costs continue to rise.

While we don’t know much longer Trump will pursue this war, the economic impacts could outlast the conflict.

Because of Trump’s failures at deal-making, the Strait of Hormuz, where hundreds of oil tankers normally pass through, will be difficult or impossible to navigate for some time.

Trump has also lifted sanctions on Russia to help alleviate oil prices and is seeking help from our economic adversary China. And after a Senior Member of the Administration quit over Trump’s handling of the war, Vice President J.D. Vance reiterated that everyone in the Administration must simply get in line behind Trump.

We need leaders to stand up to Trump and get us out of this mess.

The MAGA-controlled Congress has enabled the President and we need Democrats to stop them. I’m running for Congress to stand up to Trump’s corruption and chaos and lower costs for Nebraskans. While Trump risks our security, I will always prioritize protecting servicemembers and our safety.