Hegseth Requests 1.5 Trillion Defense Budget Amid Rising Iran War Expenses

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated on Tuesday that the conflict with Iran has already cost the United States 37.5 billion dollars, while urging Congress to pass a 1.5 trillion dollar defense budget to properly protect national interests.

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 session faced a short disruption when demonstrators yelled Stop bombing our children in Iran and Palestine and End this war right now. Capitol Police escorted the protesters out after Sen. Susan Collins requested assistance.

Hegseth emphasized the need for an extra 67 billion dollars in supplemental funding for the Iran conflict, noting that the best way to create peace is to prepare for war, to deter it, and that is 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 Stresses Supplemental Funds Cannot Substitute Long-Term Defense Investment

Hegseth maintained that emergency allocations alone cannot deliver the sustained support required to preserve US military edge, stressing that the 1.5 trillion dollar figure represents the level the President seeks for defense.

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 dollars. 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 back modernization initiatives and restore equipment used in recent operations.

This supplemental request serves two purposes: Sustain our military readiness to meet this years new demands, and accelerate critical capabilities to replace and augment those we have used in contingencies.

Hegseth Faults Prior Administration for Military Shortcomings

Hegseth also charged the Biden administration with leaving an underfunded military that now demands immediate attention.

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 is 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 are also at a different moment, and we cannot afford inaction. If we do not 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.

Hegseths 37.5 billion dollar 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 dollars once repairs to damaged US bases and the replacement of destroyed or expended aircraft, missiles, and other weapons are included.