The Pentagon asked lawmakers to approve both the supplemental funding request and a separate $1.5 trillion budget proposal for 2027.
WASHINGTON: U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told lawmakers anounced on Tuesday that the cost of the United States war with Iran has climbed to $37.5 billion so far appearing before a skeptical Congress for the first time since intense bombing resumed, as the Pentagon seeks urgent additional funding for the increasingly unpopular conflict.
Hegseth said the $37.5 billion figure includes certain war related expenses along with projected costs through September 30, though it remains unclear exactly how the Pentagon calculated the total, that the administration had estimated the first six days of the war alone cost at least $11.3 billion.
Trump asked Congress last month for nearly $90 billion in additional funding most of it tied to the Iran conflict, setting up another contentious funding battle as lawmakers grow increasingly frustrated with the war ahead of November’s midterm elections.
Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have complained since the U.S. and Israel began bombing Iran on February 28 that the administration has failed to keep Congress informed about the conflict or its broader strategy.
Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, warned during the hearing that the president’s rhetoric suggested a risk of further escalation and potential war crimes, raising concerns the conflict could become another prolonged war.
Hegseth also warned that military training programs would need to be scaled back without additional emergency funding.
Hegseth urged lawmakers to approve both the supplemental funding request and a separate $1.5 trillion budget proposal for 2027, describing insufficient funding as one of the most serious threats facing the country.
A fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran collapsed earlier this month, with both sides continuing daily strikes. U.S. troop deaths in the conflict rose to 18 over the weekend, with roughly 430 troops injured overall.
Trump has recently threatened to expand strikes to include energy infrastructure, bridges, and Iran’s Kharg Island oil hub, and said that the U.S. would soon target a deep underground facility known as Pickaxe Mountain.
