Hegseth demands extraordinary sum after confirming cost of Iran War at $37.5 billion
Washington DC - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed on Tuesday that the Iran War has cost the US $37.5 billion so far, and requested roughly $67.1 billion more in supplemental funding for the Pentagon.
"The estimate we have as of today is $37.5 billion," Hegseth testified during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing in which he defended a request for some $67 billion more for the war on Iran.
In total, the Pentagon has requested $88 billion more in supplemental funding, out of which the Iran funds will be pulled.
Hegseth and General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Congress the funding request is "urgent" and "necessary" to pay the Pentagon's costs for the Iran war through to the end of September.
Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen challenged that assessment, saying Hegseth's Department of Defense still has $75 billion available in unspent funding.
"Why are you asking the American people to absorb the cost of a war they don't support instead of asking for transfer authority for unspent reconciliation funding?"
Hegseth said the unspent money was "otherwise allocated" for President Donald Trump's other priorities, including the "Golden Dome for America, and hypersonics, and other munitions investments."
The requested funds do not include what it will cost to rebuild US military bases that have been slammed with Iranian strikes.
Lawmakers voiced frustration as they pressed for details of the Trump administration's strategy to win the war in the Middle East.
Demands for transparency crossed partisan lines, with Republican Senator John Kennedy saying "we need some hard answers and some straight talk."
Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff repeatedly insisted Hegseth clarify whether a statement he made on the war's 14th day – claiming Iran's military was "destroyed" – was accurate.
Hegseth refused to answer the question, instead opting to repeatedly boast about the US' military prowess.
Cover photo: AFP/Alex Wroblewski