Hegseth backtracks on war-funding estimates at Senate hearing

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday that the conflict in Iran was viewed by President Trump as a historic “opportunity” — and moved away from his previous statements that he was seeking $200 billion in additional funding for the war.

During a March 19 briefing at the Pentagon, Mr. Hegseth confirmed that the Defense Department had asked Congress for more than $200 billion to support ongoing military operations in Iran.

But when asked about the additional funding request before Congress on Thursday, Mr. Hegseth hesitated.

“We did not ask for $200 billion. I don’t know where you got that number from, Senator,” Mr. Hegseth said when Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Democrat of New York, asked him about the figure. “I think you figured it out from the news, and you should be careful what you read in the news.”

Last March, Mr. Hegseth told Pentagon reporters that the funding was intended to cover the growing costs of Operation Epic Fury and to replenish depleting munitions stocks.

“I think that number could be as high as $200 billion. Obviously, it takes a lot of money to kill the bad guys,” he said at the time. “We’re looking to Congress and our staff to make sure we’re adequately funded for what has been done, for what we may need to do in the future.”

Selectively defining the exact cost of conflict is not limited to Mr. Hegseth. The additional request was submitted in detail to Congress, sources told The Washington Times.

But Sen. Roger Wicker, Republican of Mississippi and chairman of the committee, said he was not aware of it.

“I assume there will be questions about the second round of requests, but I haven’t seen that,” Mr. Wicker told the Times when asked about the $200 billion request. “I didn’t see that.”

The conflict in Iran has cost $25 billion so far, according to testimony Wednesday before a House panel by Jules Hurst, the department’s acting comptroller.

But Mr. Hurst acknowledged during the Senate hearing Thursday that that cost did not include estimates of damage to U.S. bases in the region.

The US-Israeli campaign is not popular, as Ipsos polls show that just over half of Americans believe US military action in Iran is not worth it.

As the campaign progresses, the impetus for the conflict is also called into question.

In June of last year, the administration declared that the stealth bomber mission to destroy Iran’s nuclear capability, Operation Midnight Hammer, had been a success.

“Obliteration is a precise term!” Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social.

“We have devastated Iran’s nuclear program,” Mr. Hegseth said from the Pentagon podium the next morning, June 22, 2025. “Iran’s nuclear ambitions have been crushed. »

Possible indications of a viable nuclear program, such as Iran’s remaining stockpiles of enriched uranium, call this characterization into question.

At Thursday’s hearing, Mr. Hegseth called the moments after Operation Midnight Hammer an “opportunity” to recommit against that nuclear program, advancing the idea that Operation Epic Fury was a follow-on operation and not an independent moment.

“President Trump saw an opportunity,” Mr. Hegseth told the committee. “Because their ambitions persisted, to ensure that nuclear blackmail did not allow them to acquire a nuclear weapon. »

Today, even the timetable for how long America’s war in Iran will last is a moving target, as Mr. Hegseth has asserted that the recent ceasefire in the conflict and its timing are outside of Congressional oversight.

“We’ve been working for two months,” Mr. Hegseth said when asked about the timeline. “Iraq took how many years? Afghanistan took how many years?”

At that briefing in June last year, Mr. Hegseth struck a very different tone.

“It’s certainly not unlimited,” he said from the Pentagon podium. “The president has given us a focused, powerful and clear mission on destroying Iran’s nuclear capabilities. »