US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on March 19, 2026.
Mandel Ngan | Afp | Getty Images
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday that the Pentagon’s reported $200 billion budget request for Iran war funding “could move.”
“It takes money to kill bad guys,” Hegseth said at a press briefing when asked to confirm the figure, which The Washington Post first reported Wednesday evening.
“We’re going back to Congress and our folks there to ensure that we’re properly funded,” Hegseth said.
U.S. military operations against Iran, which began Feb. 28, have already cost $12 billion as of Sunday, according to Kevin Hassett, director of President Donald Trump’s National Economic Council.
Hassett, speaking on CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” said at that time that he did not think the U.S. needed to ask Congress for more money for the war effort “right now.”
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