The war with Iran has cost the US some $37.5bn so far – an increase of nearly $8bn since the last estimate in May, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said, the BBC reports.
Hegseth told the Senate Appropriations Committee it was urgent that lawmakers approve another $87bn in congressional funding for the Pentagon, with $67bn of that destined for operations in the Middle East.
The hearing was disrupted several times by anti-war protesters and ended in a shouting match between the defence secretary and a senator.
It was Hegseth’s first appearance on Capitol Hill since hostilities between the US and Iran restarted last week and comes after three American soldiers were confirmed killed in the region.
The White House asked Congress in April for $1.5tn for the Pentagon over the next fiscal year, which would raise American military spending to an all-time high in the modern era.
