Burgess Everett and Shelby Talcott

 

WASHINGTON, 06 Oct. - (ANA)- US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is running into a wall of congressional GOP resistance as he tries to secure $1.5 trillion for the Pentagon next year.

 

Lawmakers’ growing reluctance to fulfill Hegseth’s eye-popping budget request reflects real intraparty concerns about his leadership, his relationship with Congress, and the ongoing war with Iran. It also punctuates months of drama at the Pentagon over the ouster and resignation of various top officials, in addition to reports of blocked military promotions.

 

Hegseth’s fraying ties on the Hill put him on course for a bigger headache after the election, according to interviews with a half-dozen senators as well as multiple administration officials.

 

“This could turn into a real standoff with the military caught in the middle,” a Trump administration official told Semafor. “The implications: There won’t be money available to pay recruitment bonuses, money to upgrade military housing and repair military housing won’t be there, money to fix ships and aircraft from the war won’t be there, and money to restockpile munitions won’t be there.”

 

Hegseth is pushing for both a sharp increase in military funding — he’s seeking spending more than 40% higher than last year — and a separate $88 billion to cover costs associated with the Iran war and additional weapons. The Pentagon chief’s expansive needs only heighten some Republicans’ skepticism of his leadership over the US military.

 

Most Republicans believe a party-line budget reconciliation bill is the best way to get the Pentagon more money after the election. But getting 50 out of the 53 GOP senators on board for that would be a major challenge.   - (ANA) - 

 

AB/ANA/06 October 2026 - - -