and the American president, maintains that the contest. Although he does not specify which of his objectives are already being met or what they will ultimately be, he is euphoric after his Armed Forces have achieved more than 5,500 targets.
That has a cost, beyond the deaths (at least 1,332 civilians), the destruction or the increase in prices due to the. In dollars, it is estimated that the Pentagon spent a total of $11.3 billion in the first week of Operation Epic Fury alone, as published by the agency with internal sources.
The Department of Defense, renamed the Department of War by the Republican president, provided that estimate to Congress in a briefing earlier this week, adds this medium, which details that in the first weekend alone, February 28 and March 1, $5 billion in ammunition was used.
The independent (CSIS, in English) published an analysis last week in which it estimated that the United States had spent at least $3.7 billion in the first 100 hours of its war against Iran, that is, in the first four days.
The estimate of that cost comes as the Trump Administration determines how much it will ask Congress in a supplemental funding bill to cover the growing cost of the conflict. The appropriations subcommittee will play a decisive role in crafting such legislation, although the petition process “seems to have cooled down, for now,” says AP, which is looking at at least this month, as explained by the .
The New Yorker did not ask permission from the country’s Houses (of Representatives and Senate) for his intervention in the Middle East. Israeli and American attacks have killed at least 1,332 people in Iran (). Another 13 people have died in Israel and six in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), while 570 people have died in Lebanon, according to the Lebanese prime minister’s office. Seven American service members have fallen in the war and 140 more have been wounded.
US military personnel cross in front of B-1 Lancer bombers preparing to operate at Fairford Air Base, United Kingdom, on March 10, 2026.
Striking comparison
It is still unclear how long the war will last. President Trump also claims that it will end “very soon,” while his Secretary of Defense, , insists that what has been seen is just “the beginning.” Everything at once. “I think you could say both,” Trump maintains, as if it were not contradictory.
While the world awaits events, the leak of war spending coincides with a striking revelation about Hegseth, precisely, who speaks of a life of luxury when the country is spending the unforeseen and the unpromised, furthermore, when Trump said during the campaign that . The Pentagon reportedly spent millions of dollars on luxury food, consumer electronics and other discretionary purchases in the final month of the last fiscal year, according to the latest analysis by the government spending watchdog.
As anticipated the report found that the Department of Defense burned through $93.4 billion in grants and contracts in September 2025, the largest single-month total ever recorded by any federal agency. Of that, $50.1 billion was spent in the last five business days of the fiscal year, a pace described as “unmatched” in the history of federal spending.
Open the Books details that Defense spending included millions of dollars in seafood, meat and high-tech purchases, which the group criticized as misplaced priorities amid rising global security tensions. For example, two million dollars were spent on Alaskan king crab and 6.9 million on lobster tail just in that September 2025. That same month, 15.1 million dollars were also spent on rib steaks, in addition to the purchase of salmon and other fine foods, 124,000 dollars on ice cream machines and 26,000 more on specific tables to prepare sushi.
More: Hegseth spent nearly $100,000 on a Steinway & Sons grand piano to furnish the Air Force chief of staff’s residence and another $5.3 million was spent on Apple devices, including new iPads. There’s money for fruit bowls or high-end recliners (from furniture maker Herman Miller). The report notes that the agency spent more money on furniture in 2025 than it has since 2014.
As Secretary of Defense, the former Fox network host has publicly emphasized the need to reorient the department toward core defense priorities and military readiness. However, the platform’s data reveals that Pentagon spending at the end of the year reflected something very different. The entire Administration came in promising to tie its belt and put an end to superfluous expenses, for which it even launched the Department of Government Efficiency, which the businessman temporarily commanded.
“Trump has called for the Department of Defense budget to increase from $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion by 2027, which would make a balanced budget even more unviable. Before committing to such a drastic funding increase, Congress should consider allowing the Department of Defense to roll over part of its budget to the following year instead of wasting money on seafood and pianos every September,” the authors of the balance conclude.
Open the Books is urging Congress to reconsider the one-year deadline that governs most federal spending, arguing that it encourages spending spree at the end of each fiscal year. The Pentagon has not commented publicly on this leak.
