By Marcus Weisgerber, Anvee Bhutani and Olivia Beavers
WASHINGTON -- The Trump administration is preparing to ask Congress for hundreds of billions of dollars in funding to pay for its military campaign against Iran, setting the stage for a high-stakes fight on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers in both parties have been leery of an extended overseas conflict.
The Pentagon has asked the White House to seek an additional $200 billion to cover operations, according to a senior administration official. The money would go toward flying thousands of combat missions over Iran, as well as replenishing munitions that have been used in nearly three weeks of fighting in the Middle East.
The size of the expected request comes as Trump administration officials have refused to put a timeline on the war.
"It takes money to kill bad guys," Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters at the Pentagon on Thursday. "So we are going back to Congress and our folks there to ensure that we are properly funded for what's been done, for what we may have to do in the future."
Hegseth said the amount of money could change, but didn't dispute that the Pentagon was seeking around $200 billion, a figure reported earlier by the Washington Post. "As far as $200 billion, I think that number could move," he said.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, President Trump was asked whether the large funding request was necessary, given his comments that the war was nearly over. "We're asking for a lot of reasons, beyond even what we're talking about in Iran," Trump said, adding that he wants to ensure the military has "vast amounts of ammunition."
The request, known as a supplemental, is expected to face a rocky path in Congress, which the administration has largely bypassed in attacking Iran. Lawmakers in both parties said Thursday they want to see more details of the proposal amid concerns that the U.S. could become embroiled in another costly long-term war.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R., S.D.) said it "remains to be seen" whether the funding package would pass in the Senate, where bipartisan support is typically required to advance most bills. "We haven't seen anything specific from them yet," he told reporters Thursday, adding that the Trump administration would need to show Congress how it would spend the money.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) blasted the idea of a $200 billion funding request as preposterous.
"Let's be clear: If Trump wants $200 billion, that means he believes we might be in a war with Iran for a very, very long time," he said on the Senate floor.
The first six days of strikes cost roughly $11.3 billion, acting Pentagon Comptroller Jules Hurst said at an industry conference on Tuesday.
Republicans have largely supported the operation, though some have raised concerns about its duration, the impact on energy prices and whether lawmakers should offset the new spending with cuts elsewhere. Others have expressed unease about the possibility of deploying ground troops.
"I need to know what it's for and it needs to be justified," said Rep. Andrew Clyde (R., Ga.), a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus.
"We're going to drill down into all that. The amount, the necessity, the oversight required," said Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R., Pa.), a centrist on the House Intelligence Committee. He said he has been discussing with colleagues whether to include Ukraine funding in this supplemental.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R., Wis.) said he would support more funding for the war, "but I'll try and insist we pay for it." A spending hawk, he said he was worried about adding to the deficit.
Democrats worried that voting for the funding would effectively endorse the war.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D., Va.), who has backed several war-powers resolutions to halt the operation, said the amount surprised him. "Wow, they must think this is going to go on a lot longer than what they originally said, " he said Thursday afternoon.
"The problem with supplementals is if you vote for it, you're basically authorizing the war," said Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D., Ill.), an Army veteran who lost both legs in the Iraq war.
At the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Pentagon spent roughly $187 billion in 2008 on both wars. That money paid for 180,000 troops, more than 160,000 contractors, and to replace equipment and supplies. When adjusted for inflation, that is about $277 billion today.
Hurst said the Pentagon and White House were still discussing what would be included in the request. "I can't give you exact timing," he said when asked when it would be sent to Congress. He added the Pentagon is also considering buying munitions from new suppliers to expand capacity.
As part of Republicans' "one big beautiful" tax-and-spending law last year, lawmakers approved around $150 billion in military funding, bringing budget to $1 trillion for the current fiscal year. The funding is available through fiscal 2029, but the Pentagon has said it would work to "accelerate execution into FY 2026 if that can be done without sacrificing effectiveness."
President Trump in January promised a $1.5 trillion annual Pentagon budget request, a more than 50% increase over the current miliary budget. Since then the U.S. has launched large-scale strikes on Iran.
The U.S. has spent billions on munitions targeting Iran's navy and its stockpile of missiles and drones, while also using expensive interceptors to blunt Iranian attacks and burning through jet fuel for thousands of missions. On Wednesday, U.S. Central Command said it had struck 7,800 targets, damaged or destroyed more than 120 Iranian vessels and flown 8,000 combat flights.
Iranian attacks have also caused extensive damage to U.S. equipment and infrastructure at bases throughout the Middle East. Iran has destroyed expensive radar systems that cost hundreds of millions of dollars, and it has landed hits on several bases- including striking several U.S. aircraft on the ground in Saudi Arabia and damaging warehouses and a satellite communications system in Bahrain.
Write to Shelby Holliday at shelby.holliday@wsj.com and Marcus Weisgerber at marcus.weisgerber@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 19, 2026 15:34 ET (19:34 GMT)
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