U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced on Wednesday that the U.S. has spent 25 billion USD on the war with Iran since it began on February 28.
Hegseth made this statement while testifying at a House Armed Services Committee hearing on the fiscal year 2027 defense budget in Washington, D.C. He was responding to a question from Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-CA) about the costs of the Iran conflict.
During the hearing, Carbajal criticized the administration, saying that it claimed to have eliminated their nuclear capabilities during the Midnight Hammer operation in June 2025, but now they’re at war again.
Hegseth countered by asking, What price can we put on preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons? His response implied that cost is secondary to achieving this crucial objective.
When Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) called the Iran war a quagmire and a political and economic disaster, Hegseth fired back, saying such language only aids enemy propaganda.
Hegseth called Garamendi’s remarks shameful and blasted Democrats as reckless, incompetent, and defeatist.
He challenged that it claimed to support the troops, yet it called a two-month military operation a quagmire. Whose side is it on?
Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, pointed out the lack of clear war objectives and strategy. Smith highlighted contradictions between the Donald Trump administration’s initial claims of an imminent Iranian nuclear threat and later statements about its complete elimination.
Concerns were raised about U.S. military supply shortages. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL), the committee chairman, noted severe missile stockpile deficiencies and insufficient production capacity, adding that some defense supply chains depend on adversaries.
In his pre-hearing statement, Hegseth said exemplary allies like Israel, South Korea, Poland, Finland, and the Baltic states would receive special consideration from the U.S.
He emphasized that expanding defense cost-sharing in the Indo-Pacific is a top priority, praising South Korea for committing to new global defense spending standards and taking primary responsibility for its defense against North Korea.
President Lee Jae Myung previously announced plans to increase South Korea’s defense spending from just under 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) to 3.5% as soon as possible. South Korea is also working to transfer wartime operational control (OPCON) from the U.S. to its military within the alliance framework.
Gen. Xavier Brunson, Commander of U.S. Forces Korea, recently told a House committee that he submitted a roadmap to complete the OPCON transfer by early 2029.
Regarding the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Hegseth stated that the once-effective Cold War alliance has weakened. He called for a NATO 3.0 that returns to its original combat-focused role.
He urged NATO’s European members to take primary responsibility for conventional defense in Europe, including support for Ukraine.
The Trump administration has proposed a 1.5 trillion USD defense budget for fiscal year 2027.
This 42% increase from the previous year would be the largest defense budget relative to GDP since the Cold War.