The Trump administration is seeking $200 billion more to fund the war in Iran.
Trump, the current president, has said that the money is needed to restock ammunition and other supplies that have been nearly depleted by the ongoing conflict and assistance given to Ukraine.
“This is a very volatile world,” Trump said on Thursday. “We want to have vast amounts of ammunition, which we have right now – we have a lot of ammunition, but it was taken down by giving so much to Ukraine.”
Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, was less measured in his response to the request.
“It takes money to kill bad guys,” he said.
According to the Pentagon, the conflict in Iran cost the United States $11.3 billion in its first week. On Saturday, the war hit the fourth week.
Ahead of the new funding request, an F-35 fighter jet had to make an emergency landing after a combat mission over Iran, according to a spokesperson for US Central Command. Although the aircraft landed safely, it was hit by Iranian fire.
Those jets, according to the Pentagon, cost up to $77 million.
“This incident is under investigation,” the spokesperson said.
The Department of Defense has an annual budget of around $838.7 billion. That amount was approved by Congress in January. Congress also approved about $188 billion in aid for Ukraine since 2022 when the country’s war against Russia began. An estimated $110 billion of that has been spent as of December.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La, said that he didn’t believe that $200 billion was a random amount.
“Obviously it’s a dangerous time in the world, and we have to adequately fund defense, and we have a commitment to do that,” he said.
The US-Israeli attack on Iran has been a point of contention since it began, primarily because Trump failed to get congressional approval for the war. Now, Trump’s decision could also stand in the way of procuring additional funding, as even some House Republicans are skeptical.
Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, a Trump proponent, said that although he trusts Trump and Hegseth to mount a defense of national interests, he wants specifics of how the money will be used.
“The American people don’t want to be involved in a long-term war. $200 billion is a lot of money. He needs to come and tell us, is this to replace munitions? Rebuild our stockpile? Or are we talking about a long-term engagement?” he said. “We need to know before we can write a blank cheque.”
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky, has been vocal about his disagreement with Trump over several issues. The war is no different.
“It begs the question, how long do they plan to be there? What are the goals? Is this the first $200 billion? Does this turn into a trillion?” he told CNN.
