\u201cWe need to make sure we\u2019re doing everything we can to replenish, resupply a lot our munitions that have been depleted \u2014 not only just with what\u2019s happening with Iran, but prior to that,\u201d said Thune, a Republican. <\/p>\n
\t Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg spoke to several senators about the proposal in calls last week and he notified congressional committees that the $80 billion request had been sent to the Office of Management and Budget. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n However, the funding package will almost certainly run into trouble from lawmakers who refuse to support Trump\u2019s decision to go to war and are reluctant to give the Pentagon more money at a time of high costs of living for Americans at home.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re spending families\u2019 hard-earned tax dollars on a war that many strongly oppose,\u201d Democratic Sen. Patty Murray told Hegseth in a hearing last month.<\/p>\n In addition to the Iran funding, Republicans hope to secure about $1.1 trillion through the regular appropriations process, which typically requires support from both parties for approval. Then, they hope to secure an additional $350 billion through a mostly party-line vote later this summer.<\/p>\n \t The amount being sought by the Pentagon is far higher than the $29 billion estimate of war costs that Hegseth gave Congress during his testimony last month. The bulk of that amount was related to replacing munitions and repairing equipment but also included operational costs to keep forces deployed. That estimate did not include the cost to repair or rebuild US military sites damaged in the region.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also far lower than the initial $200 billion the Pentagon floated as the costs at the start of the war. An early estimate put the cost of the first week of the war at $11.3 billion.<\/p>\n Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii, a member of Democratic party leadership, said he expects the actual price tag could be much higher than the $80 billion being proposed.<\/p>\n Schatz said he hasn\u2019t done any counting of Democrats about whether there is support for an Iran-focused bill, \u201cbut I haven\u2019t found anyone who wants to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n But Republican Sen. Jim Banks of Indiana said, \u201cTo me it\u2019s less about the war, it\u2019s more about the stockpiles.\u201d<\/p>\n Banks said, \u201cI would sell it to my state as an investment in our defense industrial base, reshoring defense production to Indiana.\u201d<\/p>\n \t Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said funding for an Iran supplemental can\u2019t be done in isolation. It has to be done after lawmakers from both parties have agreed to a total spending amount for both defense and non-defense programs, \u201cthen the rest of this would follow pretty quickly,\u201d Reed said.<\/p>\n And Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota, a member of the Appropriations subcommittee on Defense, said he has been working with the administration to broaden the package to include funds for disaster aid for California, Hawaii and other states hard hit by fires and weather problems, as well as agricultural aid for farmers.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that\u2019s the kind of combination that could pass,\u201d Hoeven said.<\/p>\n Hegseth declined to answer questions from reporters late Monday as he strode around the Capitol.<\/p>\n But on the issue of the cost of the war, Hegseth responded rhetorically during a Senate hearing last month, asking, \u201cWhat is the cost of Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon?\u201d<\/p>\n He acknowledged the president\u2019s decision to confront the threat of a nuclear Iran \u201ccomes with cost \u2014 and we recognize that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t The war with Iran has been draining for all of us in Israel. But when I heard about a high casualty incident \u2013 ballistic missile impacts in Arad and Dimona that left nearly 200 people wounded \u2013 I drank a cup of coffee, packed a bag, and headed south.<\/p>\n There, I spoke with Shilgit, the head of an after-school program for underprivileged youth. Standing outside her destroyed center, Shilgit said it was a miracle that no children were hurt and spoke about the community coming together in the hours since.<\/p>\n As a Times of Israel reporter, I\u2019m committed to telling stories of resilience like Shilgit\u2019s. But my colleagues and I can’t do this alone. If you value work like this, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to keep real human reporting like this going.<\/p>\n \u2014 Stav Levaton, military reporter<\/p>\n \t\t\t
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\n\t\tSenate Majority Leader John Thune (Republican-South Dakota) speaks to reporters outside the chamber at the Capitol in Washington, April 2, 2026. (J. Scott Applewhite\/AP)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP26093260884324-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tA bridge struck by US airstrikes is seen in the town of Karaj, west of Tehran, Iran, April 3, 2026. (AP\/Vahid Salemi)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP26167633202445-640x400.jpg\")
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