US military ‘nearly running out of budget’

NBC News On July 7, citing three current US officials, a former defense official and two congressional staffers, the Pentagon is proposing an additional $67 billion to reduce the deficit until the new budget is passed in October.

However, the US Congress has not approved this money, while the costs of the conflict with Iran are increasing. This means the US military has very little money left to buy ammunition and repair bases in the Middle East, which suffered heavy damage from retaliatory raids from Iran.

Officials said the US military had to cancel many training sessions and postpone the restoration of some bases. “Many aircraft have to be grounded because the Pentagon lacks funds,” the former defense official added.

The US Department of Defense has not commented on the information.

Republicans and Democrats both expressed disappointment in the amount of information that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth released surrounding the increasing costs of the campaign against Iran. Some parliamentarians do not want to approve the additional budget without a clearer explanation.

US government officials several months ago estimated the cost of the campaign at about $25 billion. However, this number is considered too conservative and outdated.

“Congressmen, both Democrats and Republicans, believe that just releasing a general estimate is inadequate. We are not an ATM, we need to know what they are buying and why they choose it,” said Rep. Betty McCollum.

A Republican congressman on the US House Defense Budget Committee said that President Donald Trump’s administration “lacked transparency on the issue for many weeks”.

Congressman Ken Calvert, member of the US House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, told Politico that lawmakers need more information. “We recognize that the Pentagon needs more money quickly because it has spent a lot, has to cover the deficit. However, it is necessary to accurately assess the amount and do it as quickly as possible,” he said.

Minister Hegseth is trying to reform the US military, allocating budget to make the military branches stronger and more skilled. However, the Pentagon’s funding shortfall could undermine this plan.

The Pentagon’s budget for fiscal year 2026, expected to end September 30, is $891 billion. This agency has proposed a defense spending level of 1,500 billion USD for fiscal year 2027.

Mackenzie Eaglen, an expert at the American Enterprise Institute, commented that this is a “shortage paradox” in the abundant defense budget package. “The Pentagon’s budget is very large, as are the costs of the US military. Keeping up with the US military’s need to maintain combat readiness is very expensive,” she said.