Pete Hegseth puts Iran war estimate at $37.5 billion as the Pentagon seeks more money from Congress

The defense secretary’s estimate, revealed at a combative Senate hearing, is up from the $25 billion Pentagon officials gave in late April. NBC News has reported the amount is much higher.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth put the cost of the Iran war so far at $37.5 billion Tuesday at a contentious hearing where he told lawmakers the Trump administration needs nearly twice that much to continue military operations in the coming months.

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The new estimate from Hegseth, revealed at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, is up from the roughly $30 billion figure presented to lawmakers earlier this month. The Defense Department is asking Congress for $67 billion in supplemental funding.

NBC News reported this month that the Defense Department’s internal overall cost for the war so far is $80 billion to $100 billion, including the cost of repairing damaged U.S. military bases, replacing destroyed aircraft and fully replenishing American weaponry, according to three U.S. officials.