Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Thursday that the Pentagon reported 200 billion dollars budget request for Iran was funding “could move.”
“It takes money to kill bad guys,” Hegseth said at a press briefing when asked to confirm that figure, first reported by The Washington Post on Wednesday evening.
“We are going back to Congress and our staff to make sure we are properly funded,” Hegseth said.
MS Now, citing two congressional officials, reported Thursday morning that a funding request of up to $200 billion had been raised informally by the Trump administration, although no formal request has yet been made to Congress.
That figure “has been discussed informally by administration officials,” the senator said. Richard BlumenthalD-Conn., who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, told MS Now in a phone interview.
Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee Tom ColeR-Okla., responding to a question from CNBC on Thursday, said he had “heard nothing official from anyone” about the $200 billion figure. But he added that figure could also include items that would otherwise be sought in the fiscal 2027 spending bill.
Acknowledging that massive additional demand is in sight could signal that the United States — which has spent about $1 billion a day on the war so far, by some estimates — is preparing for a longer fight than the administration’s previously announced four- to six-week timetable.
Hegseth declined Thursday to say when the United States hoped to achieve its goals in Iran.
“Ultimately, it’s going to be the president’s choice to say, ‘Hey, we accomplished what we needed to do on behalf of the American people to keep us safe,’” he said. “So, no deadline has been set, but we are on the right track.”
US military operations against Iran, which began on February 28, have already been costly 12 billion dollars Sunday, according to Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council.
Hassett, speaking on CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” said at the time that he didn’t think the United States needed to ask Congress for more money for the war effort “right now.”
The Post report, citing an unnamed senior administration official, says the Pentagon has asked the White House to approve a request to Congress for more than $200 billion to fund the ramping-up war effort.
The massive figure would increase production of critical munitions that the United States and Israel have used to strike thousands of targets since the conflict began, three other people familiar with the matter told the Post.
The rapidly accelerating U.S. national debt has reached a record low record $39 trillionthe Treasury Department said Wednesday. The trend goes against the president Donald TrumpPromises to reduce public spending.
U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth provides an update on military operations in Iran during a press briefing at the Pentagon March 19, 2026 in Arlington, Virginia. The United States and Israel are continuing their joint attack on Iran that began on February 28.
Win Mcnamee | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Hegseth said Thursday that the next request to Congress would ensure the U.S. military is funded “for what has been done, for what we may need to do in the future.” [and to] make sure our ammo is — everything is reloaded, and not just reloaded, but beyond all expectations. »
The United States has struck more than 7,000 targets across Iran so far, the secretary of state said, while signaling that operations would only intensify in the coming days.
“Today will be the biggest strike program ever, just like yesterday,” he said. “Our capabilities continue to develop, Iran’s continue to degrade. We hunt and strike. Death and destruction from above.”
Hegseth peppered his briefing remarks with attacks on the American media, saying they “want President Trump to fail.”
He also attacked “our ungrateful allies in Europe”, echoing Trump’s recent criticism of NATO countries who have so far refused to get involved in the war.
Trump called on those countries and other allies to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil shipping route whose de facto closure amid the war has contributed to a surge in global oil prices.
He expressed his frustration with the situation. In a Truth on social media On Wednesday, he suggested handing responsibility for the strait to the countries most dependent on it: “This would allow some of our non-reactive ‘Allies’ to get going, and quickly!!!”
Shortly after Hegseth’s blow against US allies, the leaders of six of them – the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan – expressed “their willingness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage across the strait.”
“We welcome the commitment of nations engaging in preparatory planning,” they said in a joint statement, which also urged Iran to immediately cease its efforts to block the waterway from commercial shipping.
Trump should meet the Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi later Thursday.
—CNBC Emily Wilkins contributed to this report.
