The cost of the United States' war in Iran has risen to $37.5 billion so far, U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday, as he faced sceptical lawmakers for the first time since heavy bombings resumed to seek urgent funding for the unpopular conflict.
With just six months before midterm elections in which President Donald Trump's Republicans may face an uphill battle to keep their House of Representatives and Senate majorities, Democrats are riding high in public opinion polls as they attempt to link the unpopular Iran war with affordability.
Hegseth told lawmakers at a hearing in Washington that the $37.5 billion included certain aspects of the war as well as anticipated costs through September 30.
It was unclear how the Pentagon arrived at the figure. A source told Reuters in March that Trump's administration estimated the first six days of the war had cost at least $11.3 billion.
Trump asked Congress last month for nearly $90 billion in additional funding, most of it related to the Iran conflict, setting the stage for another fight with lawmakers frustrated with the war and facing the November midterms.
Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have complained since the U.S. and Israel began bombing Iran on February 28 that Trump and his team have not kept them informed about the conflict or his plans.
"The president is threatening escalation and war crimes, and suggesting this could be another forever war," Senator Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, said at the hearing. Trump has repeatedly issued severe threats against Iran, including against civilian infrastructure, which critics say would be a war crime.
Trump's Republicans hold such slim margins in the House and Senate that appropriations bills typically need Democratic support to pass.
"The reason why they (people) are so upset with you and this administration is that the words you have used in the past don't add up," Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said. "It's either over, or it's not over. It's within two weeks, or it's not two weeks; it's either missiles, or it's not missiles."
-Reuters
With just six months before midterm elections in which President Donald Trump's Republicans may face an uphill battle to keep their House of Representatives and Senate majorities, Democrats are riding high in public opinion polls as they attempt to link the unpopular Iran war with affordability.
Hegseth told lawmakers at a hearing in Washington that the $37.5 billion included certain aspects of the war as well as anticipated costs through September 30.
It was unclear how the Pentagon arrived at the figure. A source told Reuters in March that Trump's administration estimated the first six days of the war had cost at least $11.3 billion.
Trump asked Congress last month for nearly $90 billion in additional funding, most of it related to the Iran conflict, setting the stage for another fight with lawmakers frustrated with the war and facing the November midterms.
Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have complained since the U.S. and Israel began bombing Iran on February 28 that Trump and his team have not kept them informed about the conflict or his plans.
"The president is threatening escalation and war crimes, and suggesting this could be another forever war," Senator Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, said at the hearing. Trump has repeatedly issued severe threats against Iran, including against civilian infrastructure, which critics say would be a war crime.
Trump's Republicans hold such slim margins in the House and Senate that appropriations bills typically need Democratic support to pass.
"The reason why they (people) are so upset with you and this administration is that the words you have used in the past don't add up," Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said. "It's either over, or it's not over. It's within two weeks, or it's not two weeks; it's either missiles, or it's not missiles."
-Reuters
