Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday that the Pentagon’s informed $200 billion budget request for Iran war financing “may move forward.”
“It takes money to kill bad guys,” Hegseth said at a press briefing to confirm the figure, which was first reported by The Washington Post on Wednesday evening.
“We’re going to go back to Congress and our people over there to make sure that we’re properly funded,” Hegseth said.
MS Now, citing two Congressional officials, reported Thursday morning that up to $200 billion in funding has been informally requested by the Trump administration, although no official request has yet been made by Congress.
“The figure has been discussed informally by administration officials,” Senator Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, told MS Now in a phone interview.
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., responded to a question from CNBC on Thursday, saying he “haven’t heard anything official from anyone” on the $200 billion number. But he said that figure could also include things that would otherwise be called for in the fiscal year 2027 spending bill.
Approval of a massive supplemental request could signal that the US – which has spent about $1 billion a day so far on the war, according to some estimates – is preparing for a longer fight than the administration’s previously floated four-to-six-week timeline.
Hegseth declined to say Thursday when the United States expects to achieve its objectives in Iran.
“Ultimately, it’s going to be up to the president where we say, ‘Hey, we’ve accomplished what we needed to ensure our security on behalf of the American people,'” he said. “So there’s no timeline on that, but we’re very much on the right track.”
The US military campaign against Iran, which began on February 28, has already paid the price. $12 billion As of Sunday, according to Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council.
Hassett, speaking on CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” said at the time that he did not think the United States needed to ask Congress for more money for the war effort “right now.”
The Post report, citing an unnamed senior administration official, said the Pentagon has asked the White House to approve a request for more than $200 billion to Congress to finance the intensified war effort.
Three other people familiar with the matter told the Post that the huge figure would increase production of critical weapons that the US and Israel have used to attack thousands of targets since the conflict began.
America’s rapidly increasing national debt has reached a Record $39 trillionthe Treasury Department said Wednesday. This trend runs contrary to President Donald Trump’s promise to cut government spending.
U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth provides an update on military operations in Iran during a press briefing at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, on March 19, 2026. America and Israel have continued their joint attack on Iran that started on February 28.
Vin McNamee | Getty Images News | getty images
Hegseth said Thursday that the upcoming request to Congress will ensure that the U.S. military “is funded for what has been done, for what we may need to do in the future (and) to make sure that our ammunition — everything — is replenished, and not just replenished, but beyond that.”
The secretary said the US has so far struck more than 7,000 targets across Iran, indicating the campaign will expand in the coming days.
“Today, just like yesterday, there will be the biggest strike package ever,” he said. “Our capabilities are increasing, Iran’s capabilities are decreasing. We are hunting and attacking. Death and destruction on top.”
Hegseth included attacks on American news outlets in his briefing comments, claiming that they “want to fail President Trump.”
He also attacked “our ungrateful allies in Europe”, echoing Trump’s recent criticisms of NATO countries, which have so far refused to involve themselves in the war.
Trump has called on him and other allies to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil-shipping route whose de facto closure amid the war has sent global oil prices soaring.
He has expressed disappointment over the situation. one in satya social post On Wednesday, he suggested handing over responsibility for the strait to the countries most trusted with it: “This will free up some of our unaccountable ‘allies’, and fast!!!”
Immediately after Hegseth’s attack on American allies, the leaders of six of them – the UK, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan – expressed “readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the strait”.
“We welcome the commitment of those countries who are engaged in initial planning,” they said in a joint statement. The statement also urged Iran to immediately end its efforts to block the waterway for commercial shipping.
Trump is scheduled to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takachi later Thursday.
– CNBC emily wilkins Contributed to this report.