- The $50 billion in supplemental funding would be used to replace the weapons used in recent conflicts, including the one in the Middle East.
- Expenses in the ongoing Iran war have crossed $11 billion in the first week, according to a Reuters report citing people familiar with the matter.
- Senator Elizabeth Warren said the $50 billion being sought for the Iran war could fund ACA tax credits for a year and still leave $20 billion remaining.
Economist Peter Schiff on Tuesday warned that the debt risk is a greater threat than Iran amid reports that President Donald Trump may seek $50 billion to replenish the weapons stockpile of the U.S.
“If Trump is serious about short-term pain for long-term gain, he should ask for $50B in other spending cuts or tax hikes to pay for it,” Schiff said in a post on X.
Schiff’s warning comes amid a Reuters report that the Pentagon is working on a supplemental budget request of nearly $50 billion. These funds would be used to replace the weapons used in recent conflicts, including the one in the Middle East.
Iran War Expenses Cross $11B, Senator Warren Warns Of Spiraling Costs
Expenses in the ongoing Iran war have crossed $11 billion in the first week, according to a Reuters report citing people familiar with the matter.
The $11 billion cost estimate does not include the complete cost of the war, but it comes amid a lack of public disclosure from the Trump administration.
Meanwhile, Senator Elizabeth Warren last week warned that the Iran war costs are spiralling.
“Now, this war is costing American lives and a lot of money. Money that could instead be spent lowering costs like health care,” she said during a hearing of the Director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
She added that with the $50 billion that the Trump administration is seeking to fund the Iran war, it could extend the ACA’s enhanced premium tax credits by a year and still have $20 billion left over.
“It seems to me that when we're talking about money here, that the way that we can save the most money would be to stop bombing Iran now, and just as a side benefit, we could also save a lot of lives,” Warren added.
US’ Current Debt
According to data from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the current national debt stands at $37.64 trillion. Adjusted for inflation, the U.S. national debt stood at $321 billion in 1929 and $14.85 trillion in 2008.
In a conversation with Andrew Ross Sorkin in November 2025, Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio warned that the parallels between the economic bubbles of 1929, 2008, and now are “striking.”
“In 1929 and 2008, there was a lot of debt — but most of it was owned by the private sector. Today, the government sector has a lot of the debt,” he said.
On Tuesday, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures maturing in May were up more than 2%, hovering around $94 a barrel. Brent crude futures expiring in May rose about 2% to hover around $102 a barrel.
The United States Oil Fund ETF (USO) gained nearly 2%, while the ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil ETF (UCO) was up more than 3% at the time of writing.
Meanwhile, U.S. equities gained in Tuesday’s opening trade. At the time of writing, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500 index, was up 0.63%; the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ) rose 0.7%; and the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) gained 0.93%. Retail sentiment on Stocktwits regarding the S&P 500 ETF was in the ‘extremely bearish’ territory.
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