Huge Trump Iran war funding request faces stiff opposition in Congress

WASHINGTON: The US military’s request for USD200 billion in additional funding for the Iran war met with stiff opposition in the US Congress on Thursday, as Democrats and even some Republicans questioned the need for the money after large defence appropriations last year.

A US official confirmed a Washington Post report that the Department of Defence has asked the White House to approve a more than USD200 billion request to Congress to fund the war in Iran.

President Donald Trump has not yet sent a request for the Senate and House of Representatives to approve the huge sum and his administration made clear the number could change.

“I think that number could move, obviously. It takes money to kill bad guys,” Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told a news conference on Thursday. “So we’re going back to Congress and folks there to ensure that we’re properly funded for what’s been done, for what we may have to do in the future.”

Early indications suggest that the war will be the most expensive for the US since the long conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Administration officials told lawmakers that the first six days of the Iran war had cost more than USD11 billion.

Opinion polls show that the war is not popular, with only about one in four Americans supporting it.

The Republican-led Congress has already approved record funding for the military since Trump began his second term in January 2025. Last month, he signed into law the Fiscal 2026 Defence Appropriations Act with about USD840 billion in funding.

And last summer, over stiff opposition from Democrats, the Republican-led Congress passed a sweeping tax cut and spending bill that included $156 billion for defence.

Democrats questioned why the Pentagon needed more money, given recent cuts to social services, foreign aid and other programs, and said that no one who opposes the war should vote to fund it.