Overview
- The Pentagon’s acting comptroller, Jules Hurst, told House lawmakers Wednesday the Iran war has cost about $25 billion so far, with most of the bill tied to missiles and other munitions.
- Secretary Pete Hegseth used the hearing to defend a roughly $1.5 trillion fiscal 2027 plan that raises procurement by 76%, boosts research and development by 64%, adds 44,000 troops, and funds significant pay increases.
- Democrats pressed Hegseth on the war’s goals and his claim that Iran’s nuclear facilities were “obliterated,” noting the administration also called the program an “imminent threat,” while Republicans mostly voiced support.
- The campaign has hit the War Powers Resolution’s 60‑day limit without a formal authorization, and fighting has largely given way to a U.S. naval blockade that has choked traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and lifted oil prices.
- Officials and outside analyses warn U.S. missile stocks have been drawn down quickly and the defense industrial base lacks surge capacity, and the budget sets aside over $100 billion to expand manufacturing and secure supplies to refill arsenals.