Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is scheduled to appear before the Senate on Tuesday seeking nearly 90 billion dollars in additional funding, mostly for military operations in Iran. The request comes as the conflict escalates with recent U.S. casualties from Iranian attacks.
Lawmakers plan to question Hegseth about the war's direction. Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut and member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said he will ask about the endgame. Murphy noted that war goals appear narrowed to reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Recent attacks include an Iranian strike on a joint U.S.-Jordanian airbase that killed two soldiers, with another missing and presumed dead. A separate drone incident caused a casualty at a U.S. base in northern Iraq. The Pentagon has confirmed 100 service members injured in the past two weeks.
Murphy said he will oppose the funding. He described the war as illegal and argued that additional resources would not protect troops or replenish depleted missile stocks. The senator added that the American public does not support continuing the conflict.
