Pete Hegseth asks Congress for billions more in military funding. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy fires his commander in chief after major protests. And an Idaho teen’s death provides a glimpse into the effect that anti-trans laws have had on trans people in America.
Here’s what to know today.
Hegseth estimates cost of Iran war at $37.5 billion and asks for more money
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he estimated the cost of the Iran war so far has totaled $37.5 billion, and he’s asked Congress for $67 billion more for the rest of the budget year. The new figures, which Hegseth revealed yesterday at a contentious Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, come as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz slows to a near standstill and as President Donald Trump pledged retaliation for the recent killings of three U.S. Service members.
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Hegseth’s $37.5 billion figure is higher than the $30 billion figure presented to lawmakers earlier this month. Meanwhile, NBC News has reported that the Defense Department’s internal overall cost for the war so far is much higher: between $80 billion to $100 billion.
The $67 billion extra that Hegseth is requesting is in addition to the $891 billion that has been approved for the Pentagon through Sept. 30. Trump is separately requesting $1.5 trillion for the 2027 fiscal year, starting Oct. 1.
Senate Democrats clashed with the defense secretary over the lack of progress in a war that Trump has repeatedly claimed the U.S. has already won.
How Hegseth responded to Democrats’ questions.
With shipping through the crucial Strait of Hormuz increasingly throttled, Iran has also opened a new front in its campaign to pressure the global economy by disrupting another key trade route: the Red Sea. Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen announced a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia this week, a threat that had already appeared to slow traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, with multiple ships appearing to change course on Tuesday, according to MarineTraffic data. That strait is the gateway to the Red Sea on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula from the Strait of Hormuz, which had been a crucial alternative route for oil exports disrupted by the war.
The international benchmark Brent crude was up today more than 4% to around $95 a barrel.
More Iran war coverage:
- The U.S. military identified a third service member believed to have been killed in Jordan after an Iranian attack last Friday as Sgt. Angel Rampersad, 28, of Ozone Park, New York.
- For subscribers: Just four cargo ships and two oil tankers made it through the Strait of Hormuz in the 24-hour period from 4 a.m. ET Monday to the same time Tuesday. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps vowed to keep the waterway closed as long as Washington’s “wrongdoing in the region” continued.
Trump-backed Rep. Andy Biggs wins GOP bid for governor
Rep. Andy Biggs will face Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs in the Arizona governor’s race this fall after Biggs won yesterday’s Republican primary. Biggs, a former chair of the conservative House Freedom Caucus who has questioned the 2020 election results, enjoyed Trump’s endorsement in the primary, but that dynamic could play differently in the battleground state in November. Read more about Biggs.
In the race for secretary of state, Republican state Rep. Alexander Kolodin won his party’s primary, setting up a general election against Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes. Kolodin has led several lawsuits to overturn the results of the 2020 and 2022 elections in his state. Now, he’s running to be the chief election officer in a battleground state during the 2028 presidential campaign. Read more about Kolodin.
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