Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth have been ripped into over their war in Iran as they face demands to explain the true cost of the conflict.
The president and the defense secretary have been waging a war in Iran since the winter, despite the 80-year-old running on a promise to retreat from foreign intervention and costly “forever wars.”
Now well into its sixth month and with 18 American service members dead, patience with the war is running thin, leading a trio of Democrat lawmakers to take a direct shot at them.
“What was billed as a two-week operation is now a full-scale war that has lasted for over 150 days, cost over $37 billion, and claimed the lives of 18 servicemembers,” Reps Derek Tran, Jason Crow, and Maggie Goodlander—all military veterans—wrote. “At the same time, prices across the country have gone up significantly, placing the burden of this conflict on American families.”
They demanded that the department provide up-to-date, accurate accounting for the conflict by September 11, saying, “Americans did not ask for this war, and they cannot afford it. They do not have the luxury of ignoring their financial situation, and you shouldn’t either.”
An August Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 80 percent of respondents think the war “will go on for an extended period of time.”
“Nearly six months ago, Donald Trump launched us into yet another war with no strategy and no endgame,” said Crow in a statement, NBC News reports.
“As Trump, his family, and his friends in the oil industry use this conflict to pad their pockets, the cost on American taxpayers has grown by the day. Gas, groceries, and everyday goods have all gotten more expensive, with no end in sight.”
The war has had knock-on effects, including rising gas prices due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and anticipated hits to groceries due to disruptions to the fertilizer trade.
In a statement reported by NBC, Goodlander said that, “Americans are being asked to write a blank check for a war they never asked for—a war that has jacked up costs on everyday goods and made us less safe.
“President Trump and Secretary Hegseth owe the American people a full accounting: where every taxpayer dollar has gone, how this war is affecting hardworking families, and when it will end.”
Acting Pentagon comptroller Jay Hurst said in April that the war had cost $25 billion, but Pete Hegseth bumped that number up to $37.5 billion in July.
It’s still not enough, with the Pentagon since asking for $67 billion to cover costs.
NBC News previously reported that the war had already cost the Defense Department between $80 billion and $100 billion internally.
The fighting is feared to have burned through large portions of munitions stocks, with the Center for Strategic and International Studies saying that while stockpiles won’t run out during the conflict with Iran, come what may, it could have consequences for future conflicts.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
