Trump asks Congress for $88 billion for Iran war costs

The Trump administration asked Congress on Wednesday for $87.6 billion to help pay for the Iran war, sending a supplemental funding package that would send more than $67 billion to the Defense Department and add about $11 billion for farm assistance.

Russ Vought, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, sent the request to House Speaker Mike Johnson and urged lawmakers to act as soon as possible. The package would cover military personnel costs, readiness expenses, operational costs, munitions procurement, rebuilding U.S. stockpiles, strengthening the industrial base and other Pentagon needs tied to Operation Epic Fury, the U.S.-led attack on Iran.

The White House also included money for an Ebola outbreak in Central Africa and some domestic needs, including restoration projects in Washington, D.C. The administration cast the spending as a response to urgent needs created by the war, while the Pentagon portion alone reflected the scale of the military operation’s costs and the effort to refill arsenals after the fighting.

The request landed as Congress remained deeply divided over the conflict. A majority of lawmakers have objected to further military action, and skepticism has grown among Republicans and Democrats about both the war and the political price of widening U.S. involvement. Congress had already approved a War Powers Resolution aimed at ending hostilities in Iran unless lawmakers explicitly authorize military action, a rare rebuke to Trump and a signal of the tension now running through both chambers.

Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said Tuesday that an Iran supplemental funding bill was “inevitable” as the military operation stretched into its second week, though he said the details and timing were still being negotiated. The White House’s ask now forces the House and Senate to decide how much more money they are willing to approve under emergency conditions, and how long the U.S. commitment in Iran is likely to last.