The Pentagon has informed U.S. senators that it needs about $80 billion, mostly to cover the cost of the war with Iran, adding to the already massive increase in military spending sought by President Donald Trump.
Although the White House Office of Management and Budget has not yet submitted a formal request to Congress, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been lobbying lawmakers on Capitol Hill, including during meetings on Monday evening. According to two people familiar with the matter, Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg told senators last week that the funding request had been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget. The Wall Street Journal first reported the development.
Lawmakers divided over war funding
The request comes at a politically sensitive time, as many lawmakers remain skeptical about Trump's agreement with Iran to end the conflict and are uncertain about future U.S. involvement. The White House has already proposed a record $1.5 trillion defense budget, nearly 50% higher than the current fiscal year's military spending.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he expects the administration to submit a supplemental funding request for the war and that lawmakers will review it carefully once it arrives.
"We need to make sure we're doing everything we can to replenish and resupply munitions that have been depleted, not only because of Iran but from previous operations as well," said Thune, a Republican from South Dakota.
The Pentagon has not commented publicly on the proposal.
However, the request is likely to face resistance from lawmakers who oppose Trump's decision to go to war and question increasing military spending while many Americans continue to struggle with rising living costs.
"You're spending families' hard-earned tax dollars on a war that many strongly oppose," Democratic Senator Patty Murray told Hegseth during a congressional hearing last month.
Pentagon budget plans
Apart from the Iran-related funding, Republicans are seeking about $1.1 trillion through the regular appropriations process, which typically requires bipartisan support. They also hope to secure another $350 billion later this summer through a separate measure that could pass largely along party lines.
The new $80 billion request is significantly higher than the $29 billion estimate Hegseth provided Congress last month. That earlier figure mainly covered replacing munitions, repairing equipment and operational costs for deployed forces. It did not include the cost of rebuilding or repairing U.S. military facilities damaged during the conflict.
The latest request is, however, much lower than the Pentagon's initial estimate of $200 billion at the start of the war. Early projections put the cost of the first week alone at $11.3 billion.
Concerns over rising costs
Democratic Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii said the final cost could exceed the proposed $80 billion and suggested there is little support among Democrats for a war-focused funding package.
"I haven't found anyone who wants to do this," Schatz said.
Republican Senator Jim Banks of Indiana argued that the funding should be viewed primarily as a way to replenish military stockpiles and strengthen the U.S. defense manufacturing sector.
"I would sell it to my state as an investment in our defense industrial base and bringing defense production back to Indiana," Banks said.
Senator Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said any supplemental defense package should be considered alongside broader negotiations on overall federal spending, including non-defense programs.
Meanwhile, Republican Senator John Hoeven of North Dakota said he has been working with the administration to expand the package by including disaster relief for states affected by wildfires and severe weather, as well as assistance for farmers.
"I think that's the kind of combination that could pass," Hoeven said.
Hegseth declined to answer questions from reporters at the Capitol on Monday evening.
During a Senate hearing last month, however, he defended the costs associated with the conflict, asking lawmakers: "What is the cost of Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon?"
He acknowledged that President Trump's decision to confront the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran comes with financial costs, adding that the administration is fully aware of those consequences.
