The defense secretary warned of critical military funding shortages while senators challenged the administration over mounting casualties, depleted munitions and the prospect of a prolonged conflict.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The cost of the U.S. war against Iran has reached $37.5 billion, War Secretary Pete Hegseth told senators Tuesday as the Trump administration pressed Congress to approve a sweeping $95 billion Republican spending package dominated by additional military funding.
Hegseth disclosed the updated estimate during testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee, where lawmakers examined the financial and human costs of the conflict, the Pentagon’s conduct and the administration’s request for tens of billions of dollars in new spending.
The figure represents an increase from earlier estimates and comes as the Pentagon reports that 17 American service members have been killed since the war began. Nearly 450 have been injured over the course of the conflict, including more than 100 since early July.
Protesters repeatedly interrupted Hegseth’s opening remarks as he defended the supplemental funding request as essential to sustaining military operations and replenishing resources.
He described the proposed war funding as an “urgent, necessary” infusion and said President Donald Trump’s proposed $1.5 trillion defense budget would constitute a generational investment in the armed forces.
“Without these funds, we face critical shortfalls,” Hegseth testified.
The Republican budget package would provide approximately $70 billion in additional war-related funding, along with $10 billion for farmers affected by Trump’s tariffs and another $10 billion for election-law changes expected to include new voter identification requirements.
The spending is not paired with reductions elsewhere in the federal budget.
The White House issued a statement before the hearing urging Congress to approve the resolution “without modification—immediately.”
Republican leaders hope to advance the proposal before lawmakers leave Washington to campaign ahead of the November midterm elections, which will determine control of Congress.
Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the committee’s ranking Democrat, challenged the administration’s request and warned that the United States was being drawn into “another forever war.”
“This war is now spiraling out of control again,” Murray said.
She accused Trump of repeatedly predicting an imminent diplomatic settlement while requesting substantially more money to continue the fighting.
Trump “has told us over 40 times now that a deal is near, and the war will be over soon,” Murray said. “But now, he’s asking for $70 billion more — and for us to just trust him it’ll all work out fine.”
Hegseth appeared alongside Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.
Their joint appearance reflected the wide scope of the package, which combines military spending with agricultural assistance and election-related provisions favored by the White House.
The defense funding constitutes the largest share of the proposal as American forces continue striking Iranian targets and defending U.S. installations and commercial shipping across the Middle East.
Iranian attacks have killed American troops, wounded hundreds more and contributed to instability around the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important oil-shipping corridors.
Gasoline prices have risen as Iran attempts to control or disrupt oil movements through the strait.
The sustained American missile campaign has also placed pressure on U.S. weapons inventories. Munitions are running low after repeated strikes, adding urgency to the administration’s demand for additional funding.
Trump returned to office after campaigning against prolonged American military engagements, but the Iran conflict has expanded despite those earlier promises.
An AP-NORC poll found that most Americans disapprove of the president’s handling of Iran.
Trump has nevertheless shown no indication that he plans to abandon the campaign, and most congressional Republicans have declined to challenge his strategy, demand clearer objectives or use legislative authority to stop the war.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said the administration was working toward ending the conflict but acknowledged that major questions remained unanswered.
“The commander in chief and the whole Department of War are working very hard to bring this to a resolution,” Johnson said during his weekly news conference Tuesday. “There’s a lot of questions about how that will be done.”
Trump urged all House Republicans in a social media post early this week to support the budget resolution.
Republican leaders plan to use the reconciliation process, which would allow the majority party to approve the eventual legislation without Democratic support if it can maintain unity within its own ranks.
Republicans used the same procedure to pass Trump’s tax-cut legislation last summer and additional Homeland Security funding earlier this year.
The House is expected to vote this week on a resolution directing congressional committees to begin writing the detailed legislation.
Johnson’s narrow majority leaves little room for Republican defections.
Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio has already announced his opposition, warning that the package would increase federal deficits because none of the proposed spending is offset by reductions in other programs.
Other conservative Republicans have expressed similar concerns, although they have not all committed to opposing the measure.
Republican senators have also criticized elements of the House proposal but are waiting to see whether Johnson can secure enough votes to begin the reconciliation process.
The hearing extended beyond the cost and strategy of the Iran war to questions involving Hegseth’s leadership of the Pentagon.
Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the Republican chair of the committee, criticized the department’s handling of military promotions.
Collins said it was “deeply troubling” that the Pentagon had blocked or denied advancement to several officers, particularly women and racial minorities.
“This is likely to discourage well-qualified women and individuals of color from joining our armed forces, thus depriving us of their talent, dedication and patriotism,” Collins said.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York accused Hegseth of focusing public attention on testosterone testing and supplements for troops while failing to disclose updated casualty information from the Iran conflict.
“One of the biggest questions Pete Hegseth has to answer today is why he was out marketing testosterone supplements for our troops last week while withholding casualty numbers in the Iran War from the American people,” Schumer said.
The Pentagon recently disclosed that three more American service members had died, bringing the total to 17.
Nearly 450 troops have been injured since military operations began, although the department has said many of those wounded returned to duty.
Lawmakers have also demanded the release of a Pentagon report examining a deadly strike on an Iranian primary school near the beginning of the war.
Some senators have threatened to withhold funding for Hegseth’s official travel unless the department turns over the report.
The administration has not provided the requested document, adding to congressional concerns about transparency surrounding targeting decisions and civilian casualties.
Congress has repeatedly attempted to limit or halt the conflict through war powers legislation.
The Senate is expected to consider another war powers resolution this week after nearly a dozen previous votes aimed at restricting military action.
The House approved a resolution limiting Trump’s authority to continue the war, with several Republicans joining Democrats.
No war powers measure has passed both chambers, however, meaning none has reached the president’s desk.
The Constitution gives Congress authority over military funding and declarations of war, while the president serves as commander in chief.
The prolonged Iran campaign has renewed debate over whether the administration has exceeded its authority by continuing large-scale military operations without specific congressional authorization.
Republican leaders have largely resisted efforts to cut funding or impose operational restrictions, even as some members privately question the duration, cost and objectives of the conflict.
The $37.5 billion estimate presented by Hegseth covers spending incurred so far but does not account for the full future cost of continued strikes, troop deployments, medical care, replacement equipment and replenishment of depleted weapons.
The administration’s request for approximately $70 billion more indicates that officials expect substantial additional expenses.
The wider $95 billion package links those military needs to two other major White House priorities.
The $10 billion in agricultural aid is intended to assist farmers facing losses and market disruption connected to Trump’s tariffs.
The election provisions would receive an additional $10 billion and are expected to support changes such as expanded voter identification requirements.
Combining those issues into a single reconciliation package could help Republican leaders secure votes from lawmakers focused on agriculture or election policy.
It could also complicate passage by raising objections from fiscal conservatives who support some provisions but oppose the overall cost.
Hegseth argued that failing to approve the money would leave the armed forces without sufficient resources to maintain current operations and prepare for other threats.
Democrats countered that Congress was being asked to fund a widening war without a clear explanation of its endpoint, strategic goals or financial limits.
Tuesday’s hearing placed those competing arguments before senators as American casualties continued to rise and the administration prepared for additional military operations.
The immediate congressional question is whether Republicans can maintain enough support to launch the reconciliation process.
The larger unresolved issue is how long the war will continue and how much more the United States will spend before the administration achieves the resolution Trump has repeatedly said is near.
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