Hegseth Faces Lawmakers Over Iran War Costs as Conflict Widens

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Or sign-in if you have an account.Pete Hegseth Photographer: Alex Wong/Getty Images Photo by Alex Wong /Getty Images(Bloomberg) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is set to testify before lawmakers for the first time in more than two months to defend the Trump administration’s request for billions of dollars in additional money for the Iran war and address growing public skepticism about the course of the conflict.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLYSubscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman, and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLESSubscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLESCreate an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountHegseth’s appearance before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday afternoon will be focused on President Donald Trump’s $87.6 billion supplemental funding request — the bulk of it intended for the armed forces — but he will almost certainly face questions about the collapse of a ceasefire, the deaths over the weekend of three service members and signals that the US is escalating the war.It’s a markedly different moment from Hegseth’s previous appearance on Capitol Hill in mid-May or his combative press conferences during the war’s opening weeks, when he argued that the military campaign was proceeding according to Trump’s timetable. Hegseth stopped doing those public appearances or talking about the war as the two sides forged a truce and then as that agreement collapsed.Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of Top Stories will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again“They’ll be asked about the cost of the war, whether there’s more costs than what is in the supplemental, exactly what the supplemental is going to do, and then there’ll be the usual questions — what’s the state of operations on the ground, what’s the end game?” said Mark Cancian, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.Lawmakers are likely to inquire about whether the Defense Department plans to ask Congress for even more money to finance the war that began on Feb. 28. The Pentagon said in June that it would seek $80 billion in emergency funding to cover the cost of the war. Trump later requested $67.1 billion for the Defense Department to cover war costs, but provided little detail on how the money would be spent.In testimony this spring, Hegseth declined to give a breakdown of costs as he faced questions from frustrated lawmakers, who also failed to get an updated cost estimate for the conflict from Jules Hurst, the administration’s nominee to be Pentagon’s budget chief, in a hearing last week. Hurst had previously estimated in mid-May that the price tag for the Iran war had risen to roughly $29 billion — a figure that many analysts and lawmakers believed to be unrealistically low at the time.The Tuesday hearing may provide the clearest indication yet of whether the Pentagon views the campaign as a relatively short-term operation or the beginning of a more sustained effort requiring additional resources and even more high-end munitions. The war has proved unpopular with Americans, and has raised energy and consumer prices around the world.The defense subcommittees have already examined the Pentagon’s $1.5 trillion fiscal 2027 budget request. That total includes $350 billion the administration is seeking through separate mandatory funding legislation, rather than the annual defense appropriations bill. Because Congress has yet to approve that funding mechanism, key appropriators have questioned whether the full $350 billion will ultimately be enacted.This advertisement has not loaded yet.This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.The Pentagon has disclosed little publicly about the pace of weapons expenditures during the course of the war, despite saying earlier in the conflict that the US had struck more than 13,000 targets.The last time Hegseth and General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, briefed the media was on May 5 and the last time the Pentagon published a fact sheet detailing its operations was April 6. Caine will testify alongside Hegseth on Tuesday.A fragile ceasefire largely held from about April 8 until it unraveled over attacks in the Strait of Hormuz earlier this month. Houthi militants in Yemen, who are backed by Iran, have now also threatened to get involved in the conflict, with a blockade against Saudi Arabia.Defense Department spokesman Sean Parnell said on X Monday that “while nearly 100 service members were deemed to have some degree of injury since July 7, 2026, 96% have returned duty. They are determined to get back in the fight.”He rejected a New York Times report that said Central Command had not been forthcoming on casualty figures.The Pentagon has maintained that it is unable to measure the cost of damage done to military infrastructure in part because it does not yet have a clear picture of how it might rebuild, and where — decisions that will depend on future strategy. After the latest, deadly assaults, lawmakers will likely ask whether commanders in the region have sufficient resources to defend American personnel.“I hope Congress is prepared to ask Hegseth to come clean with respect to the damage that has been done to American military bases in the Gulf,” said Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “Iran has found a way to make this war and this administration’s offensive deployment — incredible military power — very vulnerable.” —With assistance from Tony Capaccio.Notice for the Postmedia NetworkThis website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.