WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Defense Secretary faced questions and protests Tuesday over the , which he estimated has cost $37.5 billion so far, as Republicans prepare a to fund the military, along with other White House priorities.
Hegseth provided the new estimate, up from earlier assessments, during at times fiery testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee. Several times, protesters interrupted Hegseth’s opening remarks, which came days after the Pentagon announced that three more have died in the conflict, bringing the , and that more than 100 have been injured since early July.
Hegseth said the supplemental war funding is an 鈥渦rgent, necessary鈥� injection of money, and with proposed a generational investment in the military.
鈥淲ithout these funds, we face critical shortfalls,鈥� Hegseth testified.
But Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the panel, iarned of “another forever war.鈥�
鈥淭his war is now spiraling out of control again,鈥� Murray said in her opening remarks.
Trump 鈥渉as told us over 40 times now that a deal is near, and the war will be over soon,” she said. “But now, he鈥檚 asking for $70 billion more 鈥� and for us to just trust him it鈥檒l all work out fine.鈥�
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins were also testifying before the panel. The proposed budget package includes $10 billion for farm aid and $10 billion for voting law changes.
Before the hearing, the White House issued a statement urging support of the budget resolution, 鈥渨ithout modification鈥攊mmediately.鈥�
War funds make up the bulk of the GOP budget plan
War funding makes up the bulk of the GOP’s new budget proposal, one last priority package the Republicans hope to launch before lawmakers recess to campaign for the that will determine control of Congress. The package aims to help farmers struggling under Trump’s tariffs and to pay for voter law changes that are likely to include new ID requirements, none of it paid for with offsets.
Most Americans continue to disapprove of how Trump is handling Iran, Gas prices have spiked as Iran works to control oil shipments through the , U.S. munitions are running low from the onslaught of American missile strikes and Trump has shifted away from his own campaign promise not to draw the U.S. into prolonged military conflicts.
Nevertheless, Trump has showed no signs of backing off the war, and the Republicans have largely refused to confront his strategy, question his objectives or use Congress’ power of the purse or war powers authority to halt the conflict.
鈥淭he commander in chief and the whole Department of War are working very hard to bring this to a resolution,鈥� said House at his weekly press conference Tuesday. 鈥淭here’s a lot of questions about how that will be done.鈥�
Trump, in a social media post at the start of the week, asked all House Republicans to vote for the budget resolution.
Hegseth faces questions over war, testosterone screenings and more
Hegseth appeared before the panel facing a torrent of questions about not only the war, but his own leadership of the department.
Sen. Susan Collins, the Republican chair of the committee, opened the hearing saying it’s 鈥渄eeply troubling鈥� that the Pentagon has blocked or denied promotions to various officers, particularly women and minorities.
鈥淭his is likely to discourage well-qualified women and individuals of color from joining our armed forces, thus depriving us of their talent, dedication and patriotism,鈥� Collins said.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Hegseth has been busy promoting his plan for for the troops rather than publicly disclosing the latest service member injuries in the war with Iran. Nearly 450 have been injured since the start of the war.
鈥淥ne of the biggest questions Pete Hegseth has to answer today is why he was out marketing testosterone supplements for our troops last week while withholding casualty numbers in the Iran war from the American people,鈥� Schumer said.
Senators have pressed the defense secretary to release the Pentagon’s report on the deadly attack on an at the start of the war and his own travel budget unless he complies.
This week, the Senate will consider another , having voted nearly a dozen times to try to halt the conflict. The House has approved a war powers resolution limiting Trump鈥檚 ability to wage war, with a few Republicans joining the Democrats to pass the measure, but no resolution has cleared both chambers to be sent to the president’s desk.
Republicans work to pass budget over Democratic objections
The GOP budget proposal is expected to flow through the reconciliation process, which enables the majority to approve the plan on its own, over the objections of Democrats in the minority.
It’s the same lengthy process Republicans used to approve Trump’s big tax cuts bill last summer, as well as Homeland Security money earlier this year.
The proposal is headed toward a House vote this week, which would start the process by instructing various committees to begin drafting the legislation. Johnson can afford only a few defectors from his slim majority.
So far one Republican, Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio, has objected to the budget plan, warning it will pile on to deficits because the new funding is not being offset with spending reductions elsewhere. Other conservative Republicans share those concerns.
GOP senators have so far panned the House budget plan, but are waiting to see if Johnson can kickstart the process with this week’s voting.
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