An F/A-18F Super Hornet aircraft lands on the flight deck of the USS Gerald R. Ford in support of Operation Epic Fury in the Eastern Mediterranean, March 2, 2026. (U.S. Navy photo)
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump on Thursday did not rule out asking Congress for an additional $200 billion to cover the costs of his war in Iran, a sizable sum that will likely be challenging to move through both chambers.
“It’s a small price to pay to make sure we stay up,” he said when asked about the number. first reported Wednesday night by The Washington Post and since confirmed by several other news organizations.
The White House deferred questions from the States Newsroom about a possible request for additional spending to the Office of Management and Budget, which did not immediately respond to an email.
When asked specifically about the $200 billion figure, Trump did not dismiss the reporter’s question or say that the number was wrong. Previous news reports suggested the request would total around $50 billion, a significantly smaller sum.
Trump also suggested he may need the additional money for other military operations. And although he did not specifically mention Cuba, he has repeatedly spoken in recent days of “taking over” the island nation.
“We’re asking for many reasons that go beyond what we’re talking about in Iran,” Trump said. “This is a very unstable world and the military equipment and the strength of some of these weapons is unimaginable. You don’t even want to know about it. Oh, you could end this thing in two seconds if you wanted. But we’re being very careful.”
Any request for emergency funding would have to go through the House, where Republicans have a particularly narrow majority, and the Senate, where the GOP has a majority but legislation cannot get past a 60-vote threshold without bipartisan support.
‘Absurd’
were Democrats predominantly against it They are unlikely to give Republicans the votes they need to push such a vast emergency spending proposal through the upper chamber.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a speech shortly after Trump’s comments that such a request would be “absurd.”
“Even a fraction of that is unacceptable for a war with no plan, no goal, no support from the American people,” he said. “To be clear, if Trump wants $200 billion, that means he believes we could be in a war with Iran for a very, very long time.”
Schumer said the funds could instead be spent on lowering health care premiums, on education, helping people cope with rising food costs and improving infrastructure.
“This is an untenable number, one of the most wasteful and ill-advised budget proposals I have ever heard in my time in the Senate,” he said.
Defense spending already allocated
No path forward in Congress would result in the Trump administration falling behind on spending that lawmakers have already approved.
Congress approved $838.7 billion for the Defense Department in January as part of its annual government funding process. Republicans approved an additional $150 billion in their “big, beautiful” 2025 bill for the Pentagon to spend on specific programs such as air and missile defense and shipbuilding.
Funds in the Republican tax and spending cuts package should be spread out over the next few years.
Ashley Murray contributed to this report.
