U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Cain are scheduled to testify on Tuesday before the House and Senate subcommittees responsible for reviewing the Pentagon's budget request. This comes as the Trump administration seeks a $1.5 trillion defense budget amid ongoing conflict involving Iran.
Hegseth and Cain will appear consecutively before the defense subcommittees of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees.
The $1.5 trillion budget blueprint for fiscal year 2027 serves as the baseline for the annual spending negotiations between the administration and Congress, representing a significant 42% increase over the 2026 defense budget.
In his opening statement, Hegseth described the $1.5 trillion request as "historic in scale" but emphasized that it is a fiscally responsible budget.
He stated, "The budget submitted by the President reflects the urgency of the current situation."
Democrats have raised questions regarding the conflict with Iran and its authorization process. Democratic Representative Rosa DeLauro, in her opening remarks, cautioned Hegseth and Cain that the administration has not presented Congress with any clear, coherent strategic plan.
The hearing takes place as the Trump administration faces growing opposition for not seeking congressional authorization for military action related to Iran.
Several War Powers resolutions have faced obstacles, but two Republican senators—Susan Collins of Maine and Rand Paul of Kentucky—have aligned with Democrats in supporting measures to limit the President's war authority. Additionally, Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska has indicated plans to introduce legislation authorizing formal military action against Iran.
On Monday, President Trump stated that he found Iran's latest peace proposal "completely unacceptable" and that the ceasefire situation was precarious. He also revealed in an interview with CBS that he plans to suspend the federal gas tax amid soaring oil prices.
Senator Mark Kelly, a Democrat from Arizona on the Senate Appropriations Committee, called the $1.5 trillion budget figure "absurdly high."
In an appearance on "Face the Nation" on Sunday, he remarked, "When I entered the Senate five and a half years ago, the U.S. defense budget was just over $700 billion. Now the request has nearly doubled, almost equaling the combined defense spending of every other country in the world."
Last month, Hegseth testified before the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, stating that the conflict with Iran had cost approximately $250 billion to date. However, U.S. officials familiar with internal assessments indicated at the time that the actual cost of the war was closer to $500 billion.
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