Cantwell Joins Colleagues in Demanding Answers From Hegseth on Cost of Iran War

09.17.26 Cantwell Joins Colleagues in Demanding Answers From Hegseth on Cost of Iran War Pentagon greatly underestimates cost of Iran war to taxpayers & families, senators write in letter to SecDef Hegseth WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, joined 45 of her colleagues in the Democratic Senate caucus in sending a letter to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth demanding a full accounting of the costs of the ongoing war with Iran. The letter also criticized the Department of Defense for withholding basic budget information from Congress and the American public even as U.S. casualties and taxpayer costs continue to increase. “Meanwhile, at home, American taxpayers have already paid an extra $100 billion out of their pockets for higher gas and diesel prices alone and at least another $60 billion in higher costs for things like groceries, mortgages, and plane tickets as a result of the war,” wrote the Senators. “Now you are asking that they pay again to fund a war of choice that Congress never authorized and the President launched with no strategic plan.” The United States is now more than six months into a conflict President Trump initially said would last six weeks. Eighteen American servicemembers have been killed and more than 820 wounded, and over 50,000 troops are currently deployed to the Middle East. In the letter, the senators note that deployments, including for the USS Abraham Lincoln and the 82nd Airborne, have been repeatedly extended, and that their offices have heard directly from military families worried about loved ones serving in the conflict. The aircraft carrier – which the Navy recently indicated is likely coming to Bremerton – was at sea for 286 days, a modern record, and concerns were raised by the crew and their families . In their letter, the senators highlight the contrast between the current Pentagon’s transparency record with past wartime practice, noting that Hegseth has briefed Congress only seven times in six months and held just eight Pentagon press briefings or interviews since the war began, compared to more than 70 press briefings in the first month of the Iraq War alone. The senators also criticized the administration’s public supplemental funding request as a seven-page document offering only vague line items, in contrast to the detailed, hundred-page supplemental requests provided to Congress during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Senators are requesting that the Department of Defense provide: A detailed breakdown of all direct and indirect costs of military operations against Iran to date, including damage to installations, aircraft, and equipment. A full accounting of the $67 billion supplemental request, specifying what covers past costs versus future operations. A detailed plan for how the Pentagon intends to spend the remaining $34 billion from the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act. “Despite asking for tens of billions of additional taxpayer dollars, you have so far failed to provide basic information on how this money has and will be spent,” continued the senators. “Congress must have access to this information to carry out our oversight responsibilities. It is the bare minimum that any American would expect in balancing their own household budget.” The letter was led by U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI). In addition to Sen. Cantwell, it was signed by Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chris Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Angus King (I-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark Warner (D-VA), Raphael G. Warnock (D-GA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR). The full text of the letter is available HERE . Print Email Tweet Previous Article