Hegset to Address Congress for the First Time in Two Months on Funding for the War with Iran — Bloomberg
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hagseth will address American lawmakers for the first time in more than two months. At the Senate hearing, he will defend the Trump administration’s request for additional funding for the war with Iran amid growing criticism of how the conflict is unfolding.
It is expected that during the Senate Appropriations Committee meeting, Hagseth will present the administration’s position on the request for $87.6 billion in additional spending, most of which is earmarked for the U.S. Armed Forces.
At the same time, according to the publication, the Pentagon chief is likely to face questions from senators regarding the breakdown of the ceasefire, the deaths of three American service members, and the possibility of further escalation of the conflict.
According to Mark Kansian, a senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, lawmakers will be interested not only in current war spending but also in the prospects for its funding, the actual state of hostilities, and the ultimate goals of the military campaign.
Senators may also ask whether the Department of Defense plans to submit new funding requests to Congress. Previously, the Pentagon had stated that $80 billion in emergency aid was needed to cover military expenses; however, the Trump administration later submitted a separate request for $67.1 billion for the Department of Defense without providing a detailed breakdown of these expenditures.
During preliminary hearings in the spring, Hegset refused to provide lawmakers with a detailed cost estimate for the war, which drew criticism from members of Congress. Meanwhile, in May, Jules Hurst, the nominee to head the Pentagon’s Office of Management and Budget, estimated the cost of the conflict at approximately $29 billion, but this figure was met with skepticism by analysts and lawmakers.
Bloomberg notes that the current hearings may provide a clearer understanding of whether the Pentagon views a war with Iran as a short-term operation or is preparing for a protracted conflict that will require additional resources and the supply of precision-guided weapons.
Separately, Congress continues to review the Pentagon’s budget request for fiscal year 2027, totaling $1.5 trillion. This includes $350 billion that the Trump administration proposes to allocate through a separate funding mechanism. At the same time, lawmakers are not yet certain that Congress will agree to approve the entire requested amount.
According to the publication, the Pentagon has recently released almost no information on the pace of spending or the progress of the military campaign, despite previous statements about striking more than 13,000 targets. Hegset and General Dan Kane, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, last held a public press briefing on May 5, and the U.S. Department of Defense published its most recent operational update on April 6.
This was reported by Bloomberg.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegset canceled a planned visit to Israel to meet with PrimeBenjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz due to Iran’s attacks on commercial tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and the subsequent overnight strikes by U.S. forces ontargets in Tehran.
Trump has tightened controls on the supply of materials for the U.S. defense industry.
