{"id":6102,"date":"2026-04-29T21:34:02","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T21:34:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/iran-war-has-cost-25-billion-so-far-pentagon-wants-1-5t-more-independent-vet-todd-achilles-for-senate-from-idaho\/"},"modified":"2026-04-29T21:34:02","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T21:34:02","slug":"iran-war-has-cost-25-billion-so-far-pentagon-wants-1-5t-more-independent-vet-todd-achilles-for-senate-from-idaho","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/iran-war-has-cost-25-billion-so-far-pentagon-wants-1-5t-more-independent-vet-todd-achilles-for-senate-from-idaho\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran War Has Cost $25 Billion So Far. Pentagon Wants $1.5T More.\u00a0 Independent Vet Todd Achilles For Senate From Idaho."},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/playlist.megaphone.fm\/?e=\" width=\"100%\" height=\"210\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><b>Hegseth Struggles In The Hot Seat. Their King Is Better Than Our Wanna Be King. Dept Of War Name Change = $125m. Stabbing In Jewish Area In London.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>Idaho is in play. That&#8217;s not spin from a party operative \u2014 that&#8217;s the read on a state where 60% of voters identify as independent or independent-leaning, where a sitting senator is the fourth oldest and seventh richest in the chamber, and where a farm kid turned tank commander turned tech executive is running neck and neck with him among informed voters. Todd Achilles is the first 2026 endorsement from Independent Veterans of America, and on this episode of Independent Americans he lays out the no-BS case for why the rigged two-party system is finally cracking in places nobody expected.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Paul Rieckhoff and Achilles get into the receipts: Jim Risch voting against the PACT Act and the CHIPS Act, a Senate Foreign Relations chair holding zero hearings on Iran or Cuba while the Pentagon books $25 billion in war costs and asks for a $1.5 trillion budget, and a $50 to $125 million bill just to rename the Department of Defense. They also dig into the human side \u2014 house parties with thirty-somethings who can&#8217;t afford healthcare, 100+ town halls across all 44 Idaho counties, and a volunteer army built in an old restaurant turned campaign HQ. If you&#8217;re in the angry middle and you&#8217;ve been waiting for proof that an independent veteran can actually win, this is your briefing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-WATCH <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/IQ57eQuXbds\"><span>full video of this episode here<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-Support independent veteran <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.achillesforidaho.com\/\"><span>Todd Achille\u2019s campaign for senate in Idaho<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-Ditch your expensive carrier and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/noblemobile.com\/paul\"><span>support Independent Americans<\/span><\/a><span>! Make the switch to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/noblemobile.com\/paul\"><span>Noble Mobile<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-Join <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/independentveteransofamerica.org\/no-more-forever-wars\/\"><span>IVA and stand up to Trump\u2019s Forever Wars<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-Learn more about Paul\u2019s work to elect a new generation of independent leaders with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/independentveteransofamerica.org\/\"><span>Independent Veterans of America<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-Learn more about <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/americanveteransforukraine.org\/\"><span>American Veterans for Ukraine here<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-Get some of Maine\u2019s finest gear &#8211; check out <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/loyalcitizenclothing.com\/\"><span>Loyal Citizen<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-Remember <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/youtube.com\/shorts\/do8wjRtDZJ4?feature=share\"><span>Independent is an Attitude<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-Learn more about<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/theheadstrongproject.org\/\"><span> The Headstrong Project <\/span><\/a><span>for Veterans, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.taps.org\/\"><span>Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS)<\/span><\/a><span>, and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.va.gov\/health-care\/health-needs-conditions\/mental-health\/\"><span>Department of Veterans Affairs resources in your area<\/span><\/a><span>. Seeking support is not a sign of weakness. It\u2019s a show of strength. <\/span><span>If you or a loved one are in immediate crisis, dial 988 and press 1, or text 838255.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Connect with Independent Americans:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span>Subscribe on <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@independentamericans\"><span>YouTube<\/span><\/a><span>, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0F1lzdRbTB0XYen8kyEqXe\"><span>Spotify<\/span><\/a><span>, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff\/id1457899667\"><span>Apple Podcasts<\/span><\/a><span>, and all podcast platforms<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span>Read more at<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/independentamericans.substack.com\"> <span>Substack<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>Support ad-free episodes at<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/independentamericans\"> <span>Patreon<\/span><\/a><span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span>Connect: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/IndependentAmericansUS\/\"><span>Instagram<\/span><\/a><span>\u00a0 \u2022 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/indy_americans\"><span>X\/Twitter<\/span><\/a><span> \u2022 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/indyamericans.bsky.social\"><span>BlueSky<\/span><\/a><span> \u2022 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/IndependentAmericansUS\/\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/a><span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>Follow on social: @PaulRieckhoff on <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/PaulRieckhoff\"><span>X<\/span><\/a><span>, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/paulrieckhoff\/\"><span>Instagram<\/span><\/a><span>, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.threads.com\/@paulrieckhoff\"><span>Threads<\/span><\/a><span>, and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/rieckhoff.bsky.social\"><span>Bluesky<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>&#8211;<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/independentamericans\/posts\"><span>Join the movement. Hook into our exclusive Patreon community<\/span><\/a><span> of Independent Americans. Get extra content, connect with guests, meet other Independent Americans, attend events, get merch discounts, and support this show that speaks truth to power.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>&#8211;<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/independentamericans.us\/merch\/\"><span>And get cool IA and Righteous hats, t-shirts and other merch<\/span><\/a><span> now in time for the new year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Independent Americans is powered by veteran-owned and led <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/righteous.us\/\"><span>Righteous Media<\/span><\/a><span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>And now part of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/bleav.com\/shows\/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff\/\"><span>the BLEAV network<\/span><\/a><span>!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href=\"https:\/\/pcm.adswizz.com\">pcm.adswizz.com<\/a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Idaho is in play. That&#8217;s not spin from a party operative \u2014 that&#8217;s the read on a state where 60% of voters identify as independent or independent-leaning, where a sitting senator is the fourth oldest and seventh richest in the chamber, and where a farm kid turned tank commander turned tech executive is running neck and neck with him among informed voters. Todd Achilles is the first 2026 endorsement from Independent Veterans of America, and on this episode of Independent Americans he lays out the no-BS case for why the rigged two-party system is finally cracking in places nobody expected.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6103,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-episodes","entry"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ia-promo-square-ep507.jpg",1400,1400,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ia-promo-square-ep507.jpg",1400,1400,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ia-promo-square-ep507.jpg",1400,1400,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ia-promo-square-ep507-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ia-promo-square-ep507-300x300.jpg",300,300,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ia-promo-square-ep507-1024x1024.jpg",750,750,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ia-promo-square-ep507.jpg",1400,1400,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ia-promo-square-ep507.jpg",1400,1400,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ia-promo-square-ep507.jpg",1400,1400,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/author\/admin\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/category\/episodes\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Episodes<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Idaho is in play. That's not spin from a party operative \u2014 that's the read on a state where 60% of voters identify as independent or independent-leaning, where a sitting senator is the fourth oldest and seventh richest in the chamber, and where a farm kid turned tank commander turned tech executive is running neck&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6102"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6102\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}