We just reached preliminary agreements with Iran. The U.S. Department of Defense will soon ask Congress for more funding. According to a report by the U.S. Wall Street Journal on June 18th, Stephen Vanberg, the undersecretary of defense, said during conversations with congressmen this week that the Pentagon still needs an additional $8 billion to cover costs related to the war with Iran.
Reports indicate that U.S. congressmen have been repeatedly demanding the Trump administration to disclose the full costs of the war in Iran. This military operation, which began on February 28th, not only consumed a huge amount of funds but also exhausted significant amounts of U.S. military ammunition. This has caused some members of Congress to worry that the United States’ ability to respond to security threats in other regions may be affected in the future.
The senior level of the Pentagon warned that if Congress cannot pass a new war funding bill this summer, there may be a shortage of funds for military operations. As a result, important matters such as military training will have to be cut back, as the military needs to focus on combat against Iraq and operations along the southern border of the United States.
According to the process, any application for additional funding from the US Department of Defense must first be approved by the White House Management and Budget Office, before being submitted to Congress for review. Currently, the US defense budget for the fiscal year 2026 is approximately $1 trillion, while the defense budget under the Trump administration for the fiscal year 2027 has increased significantly, reaching $1.5 trillion.
The US think tank "Responsible Federal Budget Commission" estimates that the U.S. defense budget expenditure will be significant over the next decade. The "Responsible Federal Budget Commission" presents the data in a chart format.
However, the Pentagon seems to have a good grasp on the additional funding plan. Several people familiar with the matter revealed that Fanberg has recently briefed several members of Congress about this plan. The new funds will be used partly for the operation of ships, military salaries, and the procurement of weapons and ammunition.
According to people familiar with the matter, the Trump administration may submit a larger supplementary budget plan to Congress in the coming days. In addition to defense funds, this plan will also cover non-defense programs such as agricultural subsidies and disaster relief efforts.
The White House and the Office of Management and Budget have refused to comment on additional war budgets. The Pentagon also did not respond to media inquiries regarding communications with Vangberg.
Meanwhile, U.S. Defense Secretary Hagel met with several senior Republican senators on Capitol Hill this week, and also discussed the possibility of submitting a new defense funding request in the future.
The Wall Street Journal pointed out that since the beginning of this year, the U.S. military has been under significant financial pressure due to various overseas military operations. As of mid-May, the U.S. Department of Defense estimated that the costs of the war in Iran would be around $29 billion. However, as military operations continue, this figure is likely to increase further.
Apart from the war in Iran, the military operations of the US forces against Venezuela at the beginning of the year, as well as the ongoing strikes against vessels suspected of trafficking drugs in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, have led to a continuous increase in US military expenditures.
According to the newspaper, if the Trump administration formally requests additional war funding from Congress, it is expected to once again trigger intense debates regarding the legality of his wars.
A group of American congressmen have previously warned that they will not support new war appropriations unless the Congress formally authorizes military actions. Historically, both the first Gulf War, the Afghanistan War, and the Iraq War were authorized by Congress. The Trump administration did not seek congressional approval for its war in Iran. Democrats criticize such actions as illegal.
According to US congressional rules, most bills require 60 votes in the Senate to be passed. This means that Republicans must secure the support of some Democratic members. However, Republicans could also opt for the budget reconciliation process, allowing the budget bill to pass with a simple majority. This approach has already encountered opposition from some senior Republican appropriators.
In the House of Representatives, the Republicans only need to get a simple majority to pass the relevant legislation. Currently, although the Republicans have control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, their advantages are limited.
Connecticut Democratic Senator Chris Murphy believes that the Senate simply cannot gather 60 votes to support a war supplemental appropriation bill. “I think this statement is very accurate, and it won’t change in the short term,” he said. He criticized the Trump administration for “having hardly any attempt to involve Congress in decision-making,” and said bluntly that “they know that this war is highly unpopular.”
On the other side, Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, a Republican, met with Hagee on the 16th and expressed his support for the latter's stance. Barrasso revealed that he discussed with Hagee the importance of ensuring that the U.S. military has sufficient resources. “As we can see, the U.S. military’s weapons stockpile has been reduced, and we must ensure that these stocks are replenished,” he said.
The UK Financial Times on August 18th commented that the proposed budget from the Trump administration reflects the Republican Party's priorities in mid-term elections, which is: despite efforts to cope with rising living costs for voters, soaring energy prices and the heavy financial burden brought about by the Iran war, they still believe increasing defense spending is more important.
