Democrats demand Iran war cost details from Trump, Hegseth

Nearly 50 House Democrats reportedly signed a letter to President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asking for more details on the cost of the Iran war .

“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,” the House Democrats wrote in the letter . “At the same time, prices across the country have gone up significantly, placing the burden of this conflict on American families.”

Democratic Reps. Jason Crow (Colo.), Maggie Goodlander (N.H.) and Derek Tran (Calif.) led the charge on the letter, per NBC. The trio served in the military and co-chair House Democrats’ national security task force.

“The Iranian regime — which for 47 years has chanted ‘Death to America’ and threatened our troops overseas — can never be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon, and the President’s team will continue to communicate with Congress as we work toward this shared goal,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told The Hill.

Trump initially said the Iran war would take roughly a month, but the conflict has stretched on for nearly six months without a lasting peace deal between his administration and Iranian leaders. The administration on Monday is ramping up its economic offensive against Iran.

In late July, Hegseth told the Senate Appropriations Committee the conflict had cost roughly $37.5 billion. When reached for comment on the letter from House Democrats, a Pentagon official referred The Hill to that price tag.

But NBC News reported earlier that month the Pentagon’s internal cost estimate of the war was $80 billion to $100 billion when accounting for the costs of repairing damaged military bases, replacing destroyed aircraft and fully replenishing weapons stockpiles.

White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought also asked Congress for $67.1 billion in June for the Pentagon. That included $1.7 billion for readiness, $17.3 billion for operational costs and $21 billion for munitions. The military has depleted its weapons stockpiles during the Middle Eastern conflict.

The war has come with financial costs for Americans, particularly due to the Iranian military’s restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

The average price of a gallon of regular gas is roughly $4.09 as of Monday , up from less than $3 two days before the U.S. and Israel launched the conflict, according to AAA.

“It is unconscionable that the Administration is asking for more to fund the very thing that is raising costs for Americans,” the letter from the four dozen lawmakers added, referencing the White House’s supplemental funding request. “The Administration should be focused on ending the conflict and addressing the very real financial concerns of the American public.”

Trump said earlier this month it is worth it for Americans “to pay a tiny, little bit more” for gas so the U.S. military could ensure Iran cannot develop a nuclear weapon.

“So remember that, when you have to pay a little bit more, you’re at $4, it’s OK. … I’ll never apologize, I did the right thing,” the president said at an event in Garden City, N.Y.

The Democratic lawmakers asked Trump and Hegseth for a “public, comprehensive assessment” of the economic impact of the war by Sept. 11.

That assessment, the representatives noted, should include all Pentagon operational costs, the impact on oil and energy markets and the macroeconomic effects imposed by the war, such as its impact on gross domestic product growth (GDP), inflation and supply chains.

Annual inflation has risen from 2.4 percent in February to 3.4 percent in July , as measured by the consumer price index .

U.S. GDP also increased at an annual rate of 1.5 percent in the second quarter after 2.1 percent growth in the first quarter, based on data released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis .