U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth testifies during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on July 21, 2026 in Washington, DC. (GETTY IMAGES via AFP)
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faced fiery questions and protests on July 21 over the U.S. war with Iran , which he estimated has cost $37.5 billion so far, as Republicans prepare a $95 billion package to fund the military, along with other White House priorities.
Hegseth provided the new estimate, up from earlier assessments, during a combative Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, which came days after the Pentagon announced that three more American service members have died in the conflict, bringing the death toll to 17, and that more than 100 have been injured since early July.
Hegseth said the supplemental war funding is an “urgent, necessary” injection of money, and with President Donald Trump’s proposed $1.5 trillion defense budget a generational investment in the military.
“Without these funds, we face critical shortfalls,” Hegseth testified.
But Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the panel, warned of “another forever war.”
“This war is now spiraling out of control again,” Murray said.
Trump has said repeatedly that “a deal is near, and the war will be over soon,” she said. “But now, he’s asking for $70 billion more, and for us to just trust him it’ll all work out fine.”
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins were also testifying before the panel. The proposed budget package includes $60 billion and $12 billion for other national security needs, along with $10 billion for farm aid and $10 billion for voting law changes.
Before the hearing, the White House issued a statement urging support of the budget resolution, “without modification, immediately.”
War funding makes up the bulk of the GOP’s new budget proposal, one last priority package the Republicans hope to launch before lawmakers recess to campaign for the midterm elections. The package aims
to help farmers struggling under Trump’s tariffs and to pay for voter law changes, none of it paid for with offsets.
