The conflict in Iran has cost $25 billion in the two months since it started, Acting DOD Comptroller Jules Hurst told the House Armed Services Committee Wednesday.  

“We will formulate a supplemental [spending request] through the White House that will come to Congress once we have a full assessment of the cost of the conflict,” Hurst said. 

He was appearing alongside War Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine to talk about the administration’s $1.5 trillion defense budget request, but it was also their first appearance on Capitol Hill since U.S. attacks in Iran started Feb. 28.  

“The question that I would ask this committee is, ‘What is it worth to ensure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon, considering the radical ambitions of that regime?’” Hegseth said. 

During the hearing, which got heated at times, Hegseth also said that “the biggest adversary we face at this point are the reckless, feckless and defeatist words of congressional Democrats and some Republicans.” 

Army National Guard photo by Emmanuel Gibson