Department of War requests supplemental budget funding

U.S. Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth and U.S. Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified before Congress this week about the need for more funding.

Speaking before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday, the two men defended President Donald Trump’s June 24 request for $87.6 billion. Of the requested amount, $67.1 billion would fund the War Department, the two men said. The remaining funds were for agricultural assistance, international health and diplomatic security, and domestic infrastructure projects, they said.

“As you know, we live in a dangerous world that requires bold and swift action. Hence, this supplemental request for fiscal year 2026. This request is an urgent, necessary injection of resources to address the immediate needs of our department,” Hegseth said. The supplemental funds would be part of, and not in addition to, the War Department’s $1.5 trillion funding request for fiscal year 2027.

Hegseth said the overall request was a “generational investment to deliver peace through strength” and that the funding would create a force so capable it would be “absurd for anyone to challenge it.” Speaking to the specifics of the request, Hegseth said the funding would sustain military readiness, as well as replace and augment resources the military has used in “recent contingencies,” including $20 billion to fund military pay, replace equipment used in recent operations, sustain forward-deployed forces and grow personnel strength, and bolster the National Guard.

Officials said the department is requesting $40 billion to expand production lines and expedite the delivery of high-demand munitions.

“I’ve come to you today to request the necessary funds while in the window of opportunity, while time is still on our side,” Caine said, noting that the U.S. currently faces a global list of military challenges in Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific region. “It is an imperative that Americans understand that the character of war is changing. Advances in technology are fundamentally and irreversibly changing the way we fight, which necessitates capital to properly arm America’s military.”

U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, questioned the request when the military is sitting on unspent funds and American families are struggling.

“My Democratic colleagues and I will do absolutely everything to ensure that we do take care of our servicemembers and keep our country safe,” Murray said. “But my colleagues and I cannot and will not support rubberstamping a request to bankroll this war and whatever other misadventures Trump wants to get us into next. The American people want to see a quick and strategic end to this war, not $70 billion of their tax dollars sent to keep it going.”

A floor vote on the request is yet to be scheduled.