{"id":27493,"date":"2026-03-20T00:51:19","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T00:51:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/27493\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T00:51:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T00:51:19","slug":"pentagon-seeks-200-billion-in-extra-funds-for-the-iran-war-ap-source-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/27493\/","title":{"rendered":"Pentagon seeks $200 billion in extra funds for the Iran war, AP source says"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 The Pentagon is seeking $200 billion in additional funds for the Iran war<\/a>, a sizable amount that is certain to be met with questions from Congress, which would need to approve any new money.<\/p>\n

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, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth<\/a> did not directly confirm the amount, saying it could change.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt takes money to kill bad guys,\u201d Hegseth said. <\/p>\n

But he said \u201cwe\u2019re going back to Congress and our folks there to ensure that we\u2019re properly funded.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n AP AUDIO: Pentagon seeks $200 billion in additional funds for the Iran war, AP source says\n <\/p>\n

AP Washington correspondent Sagar Meghani reports a senior Trump administration official says the Pentagon is requesting more money for the Iran war.<\/p>\n

Big price tag faces scrutiny over war<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an extraordinarily high number and comes on top of extra funding the Defense Department already received last year in President Donald Trump\u2019s<\/a> 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. The nation\u2019s debt has surged<\/a> past a record $39 trillion. <\/p>\n

Congress has been bracing for a new spending request but it is not clear the White House has transmitted the request for consideration. Lawmakers have not authorized the war<\/a>, and Congress is showing growing unease with the military operation\u2019s scope and strategy<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The new funding request was first reported by The Washington Post.<\/p>\n

Trump said the administration is asking for the money for other reasons beyond Iran.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a very volatile world,\u201d the president said from the Oval Office. He said the emergency spending would be a \u201cvery small price to pay\u201d to ensure the nation\u2019s military stays in top shape.<\/p>\n

While the House and Senate are controlled by the president\u2019s Republican Party many of the more conservative lawmakers are also fiscal hawks, with little political appetite for big spending, on military operations or other matters. Most Democrats are likely to reject such a request and demand more detailed plans from the Trump administration about the U.S. military goals and objectives.<\/p>\n

Rep. Ken Calvert, the Republican chair of the House subcommittee with oversight over defense spending, said he was already advocating for a supplemental spending bill to allow the Pentagon to replenish munitions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was going to happen, and now we have this conflict with some additional costs. So, that\u2019s where we\u2019re at,\u201d Calvert of California said Thursday. <\/p>\n

\u201cI know there are peripheral issues out there that people are concerned about, but right now, this is about our national security and it\u2019s important that we get this done,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But Rep. Betty McCollum of Minnesota, the ranking Democrat on the House subcommittee with oversight over defense spending, said the president has taken the U.S. into a war without coming to Congress and she\u2019s demanding more details.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not going to be a rubber stamp for the president of the United States,\u201d McCollum said.<\/p>\n

She said Congress is still waiting for the administration to explain where it would be spending the additional $150 billion funding that went to the Pentagon through Trump\u2019s tax and spending cut bill. It\u2019s also waiting on the president\u2019s budget request for this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not writing blank checks to the Department of Defense,\u201d McCollum said.<\/p>\n

Negotiations ahead on a final package<\/p>\n

It all points to a monumental battle ahead in Congress over any new Pentagon spending that would almost certainly need support from Republicans and Democrats in a bipartisan package to push past objections toward approval. <\/p>\n

The requested amount would be a hefty boost to the Pentagon\u2019s annual budget, which Congress approved at more than $800 billion for the current fiscal year.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s on top of some $150 billion that Congress gave the Defense Department in last year\u2019s tax cuts bill, much of it for specific projects and overall upgrades to the Pentagon\u2019s operations.<\/p>\n

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has projected that the federal government will run a $1.9 trillion annual deficit this year, and that\u2019s before adding any spending done through a supplemental bill.<\/p>\n

House Speaker Mike Johnson said it\u2019s a \u201cdangerous time\u201d and \u201cwe have to adequately fund defense.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked whether he supported the amount, Johnson said he has not seen the details, but \u201cI support what\u2019s needed to ensure that the American people remain safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

While some of the military\u2019s biggest champions on Capitol Hill have welcomed new spending as a way to replenish munitions stockpiles and upgrade the U.S. defense capabilities in the face of emerging threats, others will certainly point to health care and other domestic needs that they view as more important priorities.<\/p>\n

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said of the $200 billion price tag: \u201cIt\u2019s outrageous.\u201d<\/p>\n

To muscle a package to passage, Republican leaders could either try to go it alone through an arduous budget process, or cut deals with Democrats on other priorities that would likely balloon the overall price tag.<\/p>\n

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., signaled the negotiations ahead.<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately we\u2019re going to have negotiations with the White House on an exact amount,\u201d Scalise said. \u201cWe\u2019re not at that point yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Associated Press writers Konstantin Toropin, Seung Min Kim and Michelle L. Price contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 The Pentagon is seeking $200 billion in additional funds for the Iran war, a sizable…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27494,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[12858,38,197,34,196,12859,1857,768,772,81,12861,12860,1696,51,323,771,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-27493","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-iran","8":"tag-betty-mccollum","9":"tag-donald-trump","10":"tag-general-news","11":"tag-iran","12":"tag-iran-war","13":"tag-ken-calvert","14":"tag-mike-johnson","15":"tag-military-and-defense","16":"tag-pete-hegseth","17":"tag-politics","18":"tag-rosa-delauro","19":"tag-steve-scalise","20":"tag-u-s-department-of-defense","21":"tag-united-states","22":"tag-united-states-government","23":"tag-washington-news","24":"tag-world-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116258765690723562","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27493"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27493\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}