US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has told Congress the US-Israeli war has cost the Pentagon US$37.5 billion, an increase of almost US$8 billion since the last estimate in May.

He has requested US$87 billion in congressional funding for his department, US$67 billion of which would be directed for operations in the Middle East.

Hegseth appeared before the Senate Appropriations Committee to publicly answer questions from politicians since the US military resumed operations against Iran this month. He said that military training would have to be restricted unless an urgent funding boost is approved by the committee.

“Without these funds, we face critical shortfalls that threaten our ability to also simply pay our service members, rapidly replenish equipment and munitions, and sustain vital operations without disruption,” Hegseth said.

Anti-war protesters continually interrupted Hegseth’s opening observations and were quickly removed by police. He paused four times for protesters to be escorted out.

Senator Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the panel, has warned that the conflict with Iran “could be another forever war”, and does not appear under the Pentagon’s control.

“[US President Donald Trump] has told us over 40 times now that a deal is near and the war will be over soon,” Murray said. “But now he’s asking for US$70 billion more and for us to just trust him [that] it’ll all work out fine.”

Prior to the hearing, the White House issued a statement of administration policy pushing for support of the budget “without modification — immediately.”

Photo: By Gage Skidmore is available HERE and is used under a Creative Commons Licence. This image has been cropped.