Democrats press Hegseth for detailed cost breakdown as figures climb
The Pentagon’s notification to Congress came two days after the Congressional Budget Office published a separate report estimating the war had cost approximately $38 billion as of August 1. The Pentagon’s Friday figure is higher than the department’s previously disclosed spending estimate, and also excludes repair and reconstruction costs at overseas bases.
Officials project the Defense Department could spend $2 billion to $3 billion per month moving forward. The CBO report separately found that the war has left the United States with a “reduced inventory” of missile interceptors that could last years.
The Pentagon’s report to Congress also estimated that the war could increase inflation during the first quarter of 2027.
On Thursday, the day before the Pentagon’s notification, Senate Democrats signed an open letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pressing for a detailed breakdown of war expenditures. “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,” the senators wrote.
“Congress must have access to this information to carry out our oversight responsibilities,” the letter continued. “It is the bare minimum that any American would expect in balancing their own household budget.”
The senators added that “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.”
“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 letter said.
The letter was signed by all Senate Democrats except Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who supports the war and has recently clashed with the Democratic caucus.