Pentagon seeks $200 billion in additional funds for the Iran war, AP
source says
[March 20, 2026]
By LISA MASCARO and KEVIN FREKING
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon is seeking $200 billion in additional
funds for the Iran war, a sizable amount that is certain to be met with
questions from Congress, which would need to approve any new money.
The department sent the request to the White House, according to a
senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to
discuss the private information. Asked about the figure at a press
conference Thursday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did not directly
confirm the amount, saying it could change.
“It takes money to kill bad guys,” Hegseth said.
But he said “we’re going back to Congress and our folks there to ensure
that we’re properly funded.”
Big price tag faces scrutiny over war
It’s an extraordinarily high number and comes on top of extra funding
the Defense Department already received last year in President Donald
Trump’s big tax cuts bill. Such a request would need to be approved by
Congress, and it is not at all clear such spending would have political
support. The nation's debt has surged past a record $39 trillion.
Congress has been bracing for a new spending request but it is not clear
the White House has transmitted the request for consideration. Lawmakers
have not authorized the war, and Congress is showing growing unease with
the military operation’s scope and strategy.
The new funding request was first reported by The Washington Post.
Trump said the administration is asking for the money for other reasons
beyond Iran.
“This is a very volatile world,” the president said from the Oval
Office. He said the emergency spending would be a “very small price to
pay” to ensure the nation’s military stays in top shape.
While the House and Senate are controlled by the president’s Republican
Party many of the more conservative lawmakers are also fiscal hawks,
with little political appetite for big spending, on military operations
or other matters. Most Democrats are likely to reject such a request and
demand more detailed plans from the Trump administration about the U.S.
military goals and objectives.
Rep. Ken Calvert, the Republican chair of the House subcommittee with
oversight over defense spending, said he was already advocating for a
supplemental spending bill to allow the Pentagon to replenish munitions.
“That was going to happen, and now we have this conflict with some
additional costs. So, that’s where we’re at," Calvert of California said
Thursday.
"I know there are peripheral issues out there that people are concerned
about, but right now, this is about our national security and it’s
important that we get this done,” he said.
But Rep. Betty McCollum of Minnesota, the ranking Democrat on the House
subcommittee with oversight over defense spending, said the president
has taken the U.S. into a war without coming to Congress and she’s
demanding more details.
“This is not going to be a rubber stamp for the president of the United
States,” McCollum said.
She said Congress is still waiting for the administration to explain
where it would be spending the additional $150 billion funding that went
to the Pentagon through Trump’s tax and spending cut bill. It’s also
waiting on the president’s budget request for this year.
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks to members of the media during
a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Thursday, March 19,
2026. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
“I’m not writing blank checks to the Department of Defense,” McCollum
said.
Negotiations ahead on a final package
It all points to a monumental battle ahead in Congress over any new
Pentagon spending that would almost certainly need support from
Republicans and Democrats in a bipartisan package to push past
objections toward approval.
The requested amount would be a hefty boost to the Pentagon’s annual
budget, which Congress approved at more than $800 billion for the
current fiscal year.
That’s on top of some $150 billion that Congress gave the Defense
Department in last year’s tax cuts bill, much of it for specific
projects and overall upgrades to the Pentagon's operations.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has projected that the
federal government will run a $1.9 trillion annual deficit this year,
and that’s before adding any spending done through a supplemental bill.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said it’s a “dangerous time” and “we have to
adequately fund defense.”
Asked whether he supported the amount, Johnson said he has not seen the
details, but “I support what’s needed to ensure that the American people
remain safe.”
While some of the military's biggest champions on Capitol Hill have
welcomed new spending as a way to replenish munitions stockpiles and
upgrade the U.S. defense capabilities in the face of emerging threats,
others will certainly point to health care and other domestic needs that
they view as more important priorities.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations
Committee, said of the $200 billion price tag: “It’s outrageous.”
To muscle a package to passage, Republican leaders could either try to
go it alone through an arduous budget process, or cut deals with
Democrats on other priorities that would likely balloon the overall
price tag.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., signaled the negotiations
ahead.
“Ultimately we’re going to have negotiations with the White House on an
exact amount,” Scalise said. “We’re not at that point yet.”
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Associated Press writers Konstantin Toropin, Seung Min Kim and Michelle
L. Price contributed to this report.
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