Democratic senators request Pentagon provide ‘bare minimum’ on cost of war

WASHINGTON — Nearly the entire Democratic caucus in the Senate is demanding that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth provide Congress with a full accounting of the cost of the war in Iran along with related budget requests, as frustration grows that the Pentagon is not being forthcoming about the war and its fiscal impact.

Forty-six Democratic senators sent a letter to Hegseth early Thursday demanding a detailed breakdown of the cost of military operations against Iran.

While the Pentagon has provided some estimates, it has not detailed the total cost of the war, including how much it would cost to repair damage to U.S. military bases, to replace destroyed air and naval assets and to refurbish ships and aircraft ground down by seven months of war.

The lawmakers sent the letter as they consider a Pentagon request for $67 billion in additional funding and amid deepening frustration, by Democrats and some Republicans, over the direction of the war, which appears to be in a stalemate, and the caliber of information the Pentagon is providing members of Congress.

“Despite your stated needs, you have repeatedly refused to share basic information that previous administrations, Republican and Democratic, provided to the American public and Congress during times of war,” the letter states, citing the lack of Pentagon briefings for Congress or the media.

Only Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, who has faced ongoing questions about leaving the Democratic Party, declined to sign the letter. He didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Earlier this week, NBC News reported that the Defense Department inspector general issued its first report on the war, acknowledging a munitions shortage and saying the cost of the war was about $33 billion, excluding the repair of damaged facilities and other costs, as of June 30. A Congressional Budget Office report , issued Tuesday, put the cost of the war at $38 billion and concluded that the war was driving up inflation for Americans. Critics of those estimates believe they fail to capture the true costs of the war.

During a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing in late July, Hegseth put the cost of the Iran war so far at $37.5 billion.