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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has yet to win any notable converts in the Trump administration’s push for tens of billions of dollars to quickly inject into the Iran war, which has rapidly exhausted U.S. stockpiles and Pentagon coffers.
The effort is further complicated by Republican senators losing confidence in Hegseth’s leadership of the U.S. military as the war with Iran drags into its sixth month with no end in sight.
And some in the GOP say the administration didn’t fully prepare them for the cost of the conflict, which Hegseth said earlier in July had reached $37.5 billion. But independent analysts — such as Moody Analytics — project it has cost at least $132 billion.
Following a more than two-hour gathering between the Pentagon chief and key senators Wednesday evening, lawmakers still on the fence over the White House’s ask emerged unconvinced or mum on whether they will advance a $95 billion reconciliation package that includes $73 billion in funding for the Pentagon and U.S. intelligence agencies.
The meeting — the latest in a series of similar talks that have stretched over the summer — highlights the administration’s ongoing struggle in getting lawmakers on board with funding a deeply unpopular war in addition to another reconciliation bill to bankroll President Trump’s desired military plans.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) told reporters the meeting was “more of an opportunity for the secretary and his team to kind of lay out the vision” for defense spending but said that such briefings “are better served when they’re bipartisan because I think if this is particularly in the defense of our country, let’s all understand.”
Asked whether she was convinced that the U.S. must spend what the administration is asking for in the reconciliation bill, she replied, “I think that has yet to be determined.”
Hegseth had appeared before the Senate Appropriations Committee on July 21 to answer questions regarding the request.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) said that following his testimony, “I think … why they’ve asked him to come to the Hill and present the numbers, and I still don’t know that there’s a lot of clarity on that. I think that’s what a lot of people are concerned about.”
Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine), who is wrestling with Trump on spending power, declined to comment on the meeting last week, citing its classified nature.
Collins, who faces a tough reelection bid in Maine, has previously expressed skepticism over the prospects of passing another budget reconciliation package. She has long been skeptical of using the reconciliation process rather than the regular appropriations process through her committee, which requires bipartisan agreement.
Trump hopes to sign a party-line spending bill but is facing hurdles in the Senate, where defense hawks insist more must be spent but other Republicans, mindful of the deficit, favor a smaller amount.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said Thursday that he hopes a government funding deal comes together in time for the upper chamber to vote on it next week before the Senate leaves Washington for a five-week August recess.
The House has already adopted a $95 billion budget blueprint for the legislation.
The reconciliation package comes as the Trump administration is asking for an $87.6 billion supplemental package, with the bulk to replenish the Pentagon for the Iran war as it heats up again with strikes this week on Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
Trump also wants an historic $1.5 trillion defense budget for fiscal 2027 with a budget top line of $1.15 trillion and a reconciliation bill worth $350 billion.
The president, in a Friday cabinet meeting at Camp David, highlighted the “unprecedented investment” in the U.S. military and is “looking forward” to the $1.5 trillion.
“People see now how important it is,” Trump said of the amount. “We want to keep a safe country.”
But the dollar total for the military has been a hard ask for Congress, prompting Hegseth to meet multiple times with House and Senate GOP lawmakers over the past several months to shore up support.
And prior to Hegseth’s latest meeting at the Capitol, White House budget director Russell Vought and James Braid, Trump’s top legislative aide, met with Senate Republicans at a closed-door lunch earlier in the day.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said lawmakers and administration officials “got a lot of work” out of the Hegseth meeting, but that it will be difficult to provide more money than what the House did.
He added that while he would like to provide more funding, Congress would need to do so in another reconciliation after the midterm elections.
And Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah) has suggested that he won’t support funding for the Iran war if it is not authorized by Congress. Asked by The Hill last week whether he would support voting to proceed to a budget resolution that would pave the way for the $73 billion in defense funding, he replied: “I have zero information about what’s in it.”
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