Pentagon Seeks $80 Billion From Congress For Iran War

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has told senators it needs astir $80 billion, mostly to screen nan costs of nan U.S. warfare against Iran, adding to what is already a sizable subject spending boost being sought by President Trump.

Meanwhile, nan Senate for nan first clip approved a warfare powers solution Tuesday seeking to artifact U.S. subject action against Iran, arsenic lawmakers warily watch President Trump’s efforts to resoluteness a conflict that nan management launched connected its ain and now needs Congress to fund.

It was nan 10th clip nan Senate has tried to extremity nan war, and nan outcome, connected a ballot of 50-48, was a stunning turnaround from past efforts. Although nan solution is mostly symbolic, and does not afloat transportation nan unit of law, it reflects nan increasing concerns from a number of Republican lawmakers successful nan House and Senate complete nan warfare and nan woody Trump struck pinch Iran to extremity it. The House approved nan solution earlier this month.

The White House Office of Management and Budget has yet to make a general petition to Congress for much money for nan war. But Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been making nan rounds connected Capitol Hill, including Monday evening. A apical lawman Defense caput told senators astir nan Iran backing petition past week, according to 2 group acquainted pinch nan business but not authorized to talk it publicly.

The Wall Street Journal first reported connected nan developments.

The push for billions of dollars successful Iran warfare backing comes astatine a fraught governmental moment. Lawmakers are not only skeptical of nan woody Trump struck pinch Iran to bring an extremity to nan war, but besides wary of adjacent steps. The White House has requested a singular $1.5 trillion for nan Pentagon — a astir 50% summation complete nan existent fiscal year’s backing levels.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he’s expecting a supplemental spending petition from nan management for nan war, and erstwhile it arrives, “we’ll activity done it and spot wherever nan votes are.”

“We request to make judge we’re doing everything we tin to replenish, resupply a batch our munitions that person been depleted — not only conscionable pinch what’s happening pinch Iran, but anterior to that,” said Thune (R-S.D.).

Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg said to respective senators astir nan connection successful calls past week and he notified legislature committees that nan $80-billion petition had been sent to nan Office of Management and Budget. The Pentagon did not instantly respond to a petition for comment.

However, nan backing package will almost surely tally into problem from lawmakers who garbage to support Trump’s determination to spell to warfare and are reluctant to springiness nan Pentagon much money astatine a clip of precocious costs of surviving for Americans astatine home.

“You’re spending families’ hard-earned taxation dollars connected a warfare that galore powerfully oppose,” Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington told Hegseth successful a proceeding past month.

In summation to nan Iran funding, Republicans dream to unafraid astir $1.1 trillion done nan regular appropriations process, which typically requires support from some parties for approval. Then, they dream to unafraid an further $350 cardinal done a mostly party-line ballot later this summer.

The magnitude being sought by nan Pentagon is acold higher than nan $29-billion estimate of warfare costs that Hegseth gave Congress during his grounds past month. The bulk of that magnitude was related to replacing munitions and repairing instrumentality but besides included operational costs to support forces deployed. That estimate did not see nan costs to repair aliases rebuild U.S. subject sites damaged successful nan region.

It’s besides acold little than nan first $200 cardinal nan Pentagon floated arsenic nan costs astatine nan commencement of nan war. An early estimate put nan costs of nan first week of nan warfare astatine $11.3 billion.

Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii, a personnel of Democratic statement leadership, said he expects nan existent value tag could beryllium overmuch higher than nan $80 cardinal being proposed.

Schatz said he hasn’t done immoderate counting of Democrats astir whether location is support for an Iran-focused bill, “but I haven’t recovered anyone who wants to do this.”

But Republican Sen. Jim Banks of Indiana said, “To maine it’s little astir nan war, it’s much astir nan stockpiles.”

Banks said, “I would waste it to my authorities arsenic an finance successful our defense business base, reshoring defense accumulation to Indiana.”

Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, nan apical Democrat connected nan Senate Armed Services Committee, said backing for an Iran supplemental can’t beryllium done successful isolation. It has to beryllium done aft lawmakers from some parties person agreed to a full spending magnitude for some defense and non-defense programs, “then nan remainder of this would travel beautiful quickly,” Reed said.

And Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota, a personnel of nan Appropriations subcommittee connected Defense, said he has been moving pinch nan management to broaden nan package to see costs for disaster assistance for California, Hawaii and different states difficult deed by fires and upwind problems, arsenic good arsenic cultivation assistance for farmers.

“I deliberation that’s nan benignant of operation that could pass,” Hoeven said.

Hegseth declined to reply questions from reporters precocious Monday arsenic he strode astir nan Capitol.

But connected nan rumor of nan costs of nan war, Hegseth responded rhetorically during a Senate proceeding past month, asking, “What is nan costs of Iran obtaining a atomic weapon?”

He acknowledged nan president’s determination to face nan threat of a atomic Iran “comes pinch costs — and we admit that.”

Freking and Mascaro constitute for nan Associated Press. AP writers Konstantin Toropin and Ben Finley contributed to this report.