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 Sea, March 2, 2026. (U.S. Navy photo)
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Thursday didn’t rule out asking Congress for an additional $200 billion to cover the cost of his war in Iran, a substantial sum that will likely be difficult to move through both chambers.
“It’s a small price to pay to make sure that we stay tippy top,” he said when asked about the number, first reported Wednesday evening by the Washington Post and since confirmed by several other news organizations.
The White House deferred questions from States Newsroom about a possible supplemental spending request to the Office of Management and Budget, which did not immediately respond to an email.
Trump, when asked specifically about the $200 billion figure, didn’t rebuff the reporter’s question or say the number was incorrect. Earlier news reports expected the request to total about $50 billion, a significantly smaller sum.
Trump also indicated he may need the additional money for other military operations. And while he didn’t specifically mention Cuba, he has talked repeatedly about “taking” the island nation in recent days.
“We’re asking for a lot of reasons beyond even what we’re talking about in Iran,” Trump said. “This is a very volatile world and the military equipment, the power of some of this weaponry is unthinkable. You don’t even want to know about it. Oh, you could end this thing in two seconds if you wanted to. But we are being very judicious.”
Any request for emergency funding would need to move through the House, where Republicans hold an especially thin majority, and the Senate, where the GOP has a majority but legislation cannot advance past a 60-vote legislative hurdle without bipartisan support.
‘Preposterous’
Democrats have been overwhelmingly opposed to Trump’s war in Iran since it began and are unlikely to give Republicans the votes needed to move such a large emergency spending request through the upper chamber.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said shortly after Trump’s remarks in a floor speech that such a request would be “preposterous.”
“Even a fraction of that is unacceptable for a war without a plan, without a goal, without the support of the American people,” he said. “Let’s be very clear, if Trump wants $200 billion, that means he believes we might be in a war with Iran for a very, very long time.”
Schumer said that funding could instead be spent on lowering health care premiums, education, helping people afford the rising costs of groceries and improving infrastructure.
“It’s an indefensible number, one of the most wasteful and unthought-out budget requests I have ever heard in my time in the Senate,” he said.
Defense spending already provided
No path forward in Congress would leave the Trump administration with the spending lawmakers have already approved.
Congress approved $838.7 billion for the Department of Defense in January as part of its annual government funding process. Republicans approved another $150 billion for the Pentagon to spend on specific programs, like air and missile defense, as well as shipbuilding, in their “big, beautiful” law enacted in 2025.
The funding in the GOP tax and spending cuts package was intended to be spread out over the next few years.
Ashley Murray contributed to this report.
