https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/19/w...g-hegseth.html
Pentagon Seeks $200 Billion to Fund Iran War
The request, which the White House has not yet submitted to Congress, is already encountering some resistance.
The Pentagon has asked for $200 billion in funding for the war in Iran, according to a military official and an administration official, a significant sum adding to the costs of an already divisive campaign.
The request has been sent to the White House, the military official said, which will review it before any request for funds is formally submitted to Congress. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the proposal. The request was reported earlier by The Washington Post.
“Obviously, it takes money to kill bad guys,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said when asked about the request during a news conference on Thursday, adding: “As far as the $200 billion, I think that number could move.”
On Capitol Hill, the sum — nearly a quarter of the country’s entire annual defense budget — is already raising eyebrows among some moderate Republicans who would be key to approving the funds.
“It’s considerably higher than I would have guessed, but I don’t know how it’s broken down,” Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine and the head of the chamber’s Appropriations Committee, told reporters Wednesday evening. The White House had not passed along any request to Congress, she said.
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Pentagon seeks 200 Billion to fund War.
