WASHINGTON — The cost of the Iran war has increased to $29 billion to date, Pentagon officials told lawmakers in both chambers Tuesday.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine and Department of Defense acting comptroller Jules Hurst faced questions from House and Senate appropriators over several hours of testimony on the administration’s Pentagon budget request and the direction of the U.S. operation in Iran and the Strait of Hormuz.
The hearings began just as the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the latest inflation figures that showed skyrocketing fuel costs drove overall inflation to the highest level since 2023.
Rep. Betty McCollum, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, said she remains skeptical of Pentagon spending, as it has lacked “sufficient transparency with gas prices and inflation numbers increasing.”
“The American people just want to afford the basic necessities for everyday life, but this administration is not doing anything to help them with the cost of living crisis,” the Minnesota lawmaker said.
Similarly, Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., who sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee and serves as the top Democrat on the Senate Committee on Armed Services, said “vague generalities are not helping this committee make critical judgments.”
“And the tradeoffs are significant. The deficit is increasing dramatically. We have to be conscious of that. We also have to be conscious (of) helping American families just get by, and inflation just hit 3.8% today,” Reed said.
The latest Consumer Price Index reached 3.8% over one year ago, according to the Department of Labor, up from 3.3% last month.
Fuel and energy costs largely drove the inflation increase, with gasoline up 28.4% compared to last year.
Oil and gas prices have soared since the U.S. joined Israel in launching strikes against Iran on Feb. 28. The protracted conflict has led to a near standstill in the Strait of Hormuz, a key maritime passageway off the coast of Iran where one-fifth of the world’s petroleum crossed prior to the war.
Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., questioned the Pentagon’s estimate that the war has cost $29 billion, calling it “suspiciously low.”
When pressed, Hurst said the figure does not include the cost of damage to U.S. military bases in the Middle East. Iran launched retaliatory strikes in March on multiple American installations in the region, including a strike on a base in Kuwait that killed six U.S. troops.
“Your acting comptroller suggested that damage to U.S. facilities was not factored into that figure,” Murray said to Hegseth. “It is clear that there has been extensive damage to American military assets.”
The secretary said he could not divulge details on damage to U.S. assets.
“I think an important point is, considering what the president is undertaking, what is the cost of Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon? And the fact that this president’s been willing to make a historic and courageous choice to confront that, it comes with cost. And we recognize that,” Hegseth said.
Despite continued tit-for-tat attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, Hegseth told lawmakers that a ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran is still in effect.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, asked Hegseth whether he believes President Donald Trump will need congressional authorization to continue military activity against the Islamic Republic.
“It doesn’t appear that hostilities have ended, and so the question to you is whether or not the administration has considered or had intended to seek an authorization of the use of military force from the Congress?” she asked.
Hegseth replied: “Senator, our view is that should the president make the decision to recommence that we would have all the authorities to do so.”
Efforts to pass a War Powers Resolution to rein in Trump’s military operations in Iran have failed multiple times in the the Republican-led Senate and House.
A vote is possible this week in the House on a bipartisan War Powers Resolution.
Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com.
1 comment on this item
Only paid subscribers can comment
Please log in to comment by clicking here.
Kneeds2Know+
Let's connect some dots demonstrating how Trump is prioritizing the war in Gaza and a wider conflict with Iran over the welfare—and constitutional rights—of everyday Americans.
His administration reached its strict 60-day statutory deadline under the War Powers Resolution on May 1 seeking congressional authorization for his escalating Middle East war. Instead of respecting the law, Trump is utilizing his private, billionaire-backed Board of Peace to coordinate multi-billion-dollar foreign operations in Gaza over his high-rise real estate dream, actively bypassing standard Congressional oversight and the U.S. Constitution. The costs are staggering, and the benefits are profoundly one-sided.
Netanyahu has been handed $21.7 billion in taxpayer money since this conflict began, alongside a fresh $10 billion U.S. pledge directly tied to the Board of Peace's frameworks. Yet, Israel has explicitly refused to contribute a single dime to rebuilding Gaza. Instead, the deal allows Israel to keep permanent security control, offload the entire multi-billion-dollar cleanup bill to taxpayers, and use the board's diplomatic cover to draw the U.S. into a direct conflict with Iran—now estimated to cost American taxpayers and additional $25 and $51 billion alone.
While that money flows seamlessly into foreign entanglements via private boards, domestic safety nets are being aggressively dismantled. SNAP, Medicaid, WIC, and school meals have been gutted, leaving 13 million American children to face hunger. Furthermore, those safety-net cuts are projected to kill over 1 million American jobs as local consumer spending dries up—all while the wealthiest corporations enjoy record tax breaks.
Congress nearly passed a resolution to rein in these unauthorized war powers, failing by a single vote in the House and a 50–49 margin in the Senate. It is time for our local representatives to stand up for the law and the American people....... Anyone else feeling a sense of nausea?
Monday, May 18 Report this