US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended the Trump administration’s $1.5 trillion 2027 military budget as the Pentagon put the war's price tag at nearly $29 billion.

Pentagon finance chief Jules Hurst III has said that the war with Iran has cost the use $29 billion (€27.7 billion) so far, some $4 billion more than an estimate provided by defense officials in late April.

"At the time of [that] testimony... it was $25 billion dollars," Hurst told lawmakers alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Hurst did not specify how they arrived at that number or say home much more they expected the US to spend, but he was seeking approval from Congress for a $1.5 trillion defense budget for 2027.

Congressional Republicans are increasingly finding it difficult to publicly support Trump's war with Iran as prices for consumers skyrocket and public coffers continue to be emptied out for a conflict that does not seem to be reaching any particular goal.