Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine appeared Tuesday before House and Senate subcommittees looking into Pentagon budget requests as the Trump administration seeks $1.5 trillion The war in Iran.
Hegseth and Caine will appear in successive hearings before the House and Senate Appropriations subcommittees that oversee defense spending. $1.5 trillion fiscal year 2027 budget proposalwhich serves as the starting point for negotiations with Congress on annual spending, would mark a 42% increase in defense spending from 2026 levels.
In opening statements, Hegseth said the $1.5 trillion request is a “historic budget,” but added that it is a “fiscally responsible budget.”
“The president’s budget request reflects the urgency of the moment,” Hegseth said.
Democrats have already expressed concern about the Iran war and its authorization. Democratic Representative Rosa DeLauro in her opening statement warned Hegseth and Caine “this administration has not presented Congress with any kind of clear or coherent strategy.”
Hegesth told the subcommittee that “we have a plan for all of that,” saying there is a plan to escalate “if necessary” and a plan to “replace assets.” But he went on to say that he would not give further details about the next steps “in this setting.”
Pentagon Acting Administrator Jules Hurst, who also appeared on Tuesday, said the Pentagon would be providing funding for the Iran war, but the White House has since said it does not plan to release it.
The Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Tom Cole pressed Hegseth to use the reconciliation process to get funding, saying it “sets this committee on a cliff in the future” because “at some point, that funding disappears and we’re going to have a big increase in discretionary funds to keep going.”
The hearing comes as the Trump administration faces a growing failure to get the Iran war approved by Congress. Although several war power resolutions failed to move forward, two Republicans – Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Rand Paul of Kentucky – have joined Democrats in advancing a way to limit Mr. Trump’s war powers. And GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said she intends to introduce a legal authorization to use the military in Iran.
President Trump said Monday that ending the war with Iran is “on life support” after that called Iran’s latest peace proposal “It is absolutely unacceptable.” Mr. Trump told CBS News that he intends to freeze the gas tax rising gas prices.
Democratic Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, who sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee, called the number $1.5 trillion. “annoying.”
“When I came to the Senate five and a half years ago, the defense budget was just over $700 billion,” Kelly said Sunday on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.” “Now they’re asking for double the amount – almost what the rest of the world pays for their protection.”
Hegseth testified last month before the House and Senate Armed Services Committees that the conflict has cost $25 billion so far, and Hurst said Tuesday that the price tag is now $29 billion. US officials familiar with internal investigations suggested at the time that the price tag for Iran’s war could be imminent $50 billion.
