US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday that the war with Iran has cost the United States $37.5 billion so far, while arguing that Congress should approve a $1.5 trillion defense budget to adequately defend the country.
“Not funding this department at $1.5 trillion, I believe, is the greatest threat that our nation faces,” Hegseth told the Senate Appropriations Committee.
The hearing was briefly interrupted by protesters shouting, “Stop bombing our children in Iran and Palestine!” and “End this war right now!” Capitol Police removed the demonstrators after Sen. Susan Collins called for security.
Hegseth stressed that the military would require an additional $67 billion in supplemental funding for the war with Iran, arguing that “the best way to create peace is to prepare for war, to deter it, and that’s exactly what the [Department of Defense] is doing, building a force so capable that it would be absurd for anyone to challenge it.”
“Without these funds, we face critical shortfalls that threaten our ability to also simply pay our service members, rapidly replenish equipment and munitions, and sustain vital operations without disruption,” he said.
Hegseth: Supplemental funding cannot replace long-term defense spending
Hegseth argued that emergency funding alone would not provide the long-term investment needed to maintain US military superiority, insisting that the $1.5 trillion would be necessary for defense, and is “what the President seeks.”
“The members of this committee understand better than most that long-term strategic dominance cannot be funded through one-off supplementals,” he said.
“On the readiness front, we requested $21 billion. This will fund military pay, replace much of the equipment utilized during recent operations, sustain forward-deployed forces, and grow personnel and strength while stabilizing mission-critical fuel shortfalls and supporting the National Guard,” he said.
He added that the supplemental package would also support modernization efforts and replenish equipment depleted during recent operations.
“This supplemental request serves two purposes: Sustain our military readiness to meet this year’s new demands, and accelerate critical capabilities to replace and augment those we have used in contingencies.”
Hegseth blames Biden administration for weakened military
Hegseth also accused the Biden administration of leaving behind an underfunded military that required urgent investment.
“President Trump inherited a set of global and domestic crises. Deferred maintenance almost across the board. Instead of steering the ship through gathering storms, former leaders let our military languish through social experiments and globalist appeasement, sheer weakness.”
Continuing on, the defense secretary said that “The Pentagon is no longer run by bureaucrats; instead, it’s led by combat-tested veterans and world-class business leaders, who are running the department like a business. And tech titans who are bringing lethal innovation to the battlefield. We’re also at a different moment, and we cannot afford inaction. If we don’t make critical investments right now in tech, in compute, in AI, in autonomy, in space, our adversaries who are already making these types of investments could outpace us.”
Hegseth’s $37.5 billion estimate is substantially lower than other public estimates. Earlier this month, NBC News reported that the total cost of the war could ultimately reach between $80 billion and $100 billion once repairs to damaged US bases and the replacement of destroyed or expended aircraft, missiles, and other weapons are included.
