WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon is seeking $200 billion in additional funds for the Iran war, a sizable amount that is certain to be met with questions from Congress, which would need to approve any new money.
The department sent the request to the White House, according to a senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private information. Asked about the figure at a press conference Thursday, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth did not directly confirm the amount, saying it could change.
“It takes money to kill bad guys,” Hegseth said.
But he said “we’re going back to Congress and our folks there to ensure that we’re properly funded.”
It’s an extraordinarily high number and comes on top of extra funding the Defence Department already received last year in President Donald Trump’s big tax cuts bill. Such a request would need to be approved by Congress, and it is not at all clear such spending would have political support.
Congress has been bracing for a new spending request but it is not clear the White House has transmitted the request for consideration. The new funding request was first reported by The Washington Post.
Any new funding would need to be approved by Congress, which has not authorised the war, and is showing growing unease with the military operation’s scope and strategy.
The requested amount would be a sizable boost to the Pentagon’s annual budget, which Congress approved at more than $800 billion for the current fiscal year.
That’s on top of some $150 billion that Congress gave the Defense Department in last year’s tax cuts bill, much of it for specific projects and overall upgrades to the Pentagon’s operations.
