Hassett says US has ‘got what we need’ on funding for Iran conflict

 National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett on Sunday said the Trump administration has “got what we need” when it comes to funding for the conflict in Iran.

“Well, tell me how much is this war going to cost? Because I know the Pentagon briefed it’s going to be about $11.3 billion. Do you need to ask Congress for more money to pay for what you’re doing?” CBS News’s Margaret Brennan asked Hassett on “Face the Nation.”

“I think right now we’ve got what we need, whether we have to go back to Congress for more is something that I think that Russ Vought and OMB will look into, but the latest number, you said $11.3 [billion], the latest number I was briefed on was $12 [billion], and so it’s consistent,” Hassett responded, referring to Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget.

“So, this is something that we’ve got the weapons that we’ve already got in place to do this and so we are not necessarily going to need any kind of supplemental,” he added.

Last Tuesday, Department of Defense officials told lawmakers during a briefing that the approximate cost of the conflict against Iran was more than $11.3 billion within its first six days, a source told The Hill.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) last week said an Iran conflict supplemental funding package was “inevitable.”

“I think the supplemental funding bill for the military is inevitable,” Johnson said in a news conference.

“We don’t yet know what the details of that will be. As you know, in the process submitted by the administration and Congress, and then it’s deliberated upon en masse, we were anticipating a supplemental even before the Iran operation began. So that will happen. The timetable is yet to be determined.”

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5785257-hassett-iran-war-cost/