Iran war has cost taxpayers $38B and counting

… </script><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="https://use.typekit.net/zmr6qqx.css"><style>.article-row-with-three-columns~.article-row-with-three-columns .article-row-with-three-columns__right-column[data-v-8d32737f]{justify-content:center}</style><style>body:has(dialog[open]){overflow:hidden}</style><style>.piano-footer[data-v-ad99b4aa]{z-index:2;background:linear-gradient(#0000,#0000,#fff 65%,#fff),url(https://s3.amazonaws.com/origin-static.politico.com/piano/regwall-bg.jpg);border-top-left-radius:20px;border-top-right-radius:20px;box-shadow:0 -6px 14px #00000014}@media screen and (width>=768px){.piano-footer[data-v-ad99b4aa]{border-radius:0}}.piano-footer[open][data-v-ad99b4aa]{display:block}.piano-footer__container[data-v-ad99b4aa]{max-width:60rem;padding:40px 20px}.piano-footer__close[data-v-ad99b4aa]{top:20px;right:20px}.piano-footer__title[data-v-ad99b4aa]{margin-bottom:6px;font-size:24px}</style><style>.form-dropdown__label[data-v-cd079c9d]{font-family:Söhne,sans-serif}.form-dropdown__select-container[data-v-cd079c9d]:after{content:"";pointer-events:none;border-top:5px solid;border-left:5px solid #0000;border-right:5px solid #0000;width:0;height:0;position:absolute;top:24px;right:10px}</style><link rel="stylesheet" href="/helios/_nuxt/entry.C2QLnB5W.css" crossorigin><link rel="stylesheet" href="/helios/_nuxt/SitePianoFooter.Cgmlxg4P.css" crossorigin><link rel="stylesheet" href="/helios/_nuxt/ArticlePageSSRRenderRegwall.AZf1vDpL.css" crossorigin><link rel="stylesheet" href="/helios/_nuxt/usePortableTextComponents.BoolQACs.css" crossorigin><link rel="stylesheet" href="/helios/_nuxt/portableTextMediaBlocks.D76zse3Y.css" crossorigin><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/m8m_iJPA.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/BXTG8qZ0.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/D7OGFPCE.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/vpfdH6FC.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/D2HuTnMG.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/DN9XjVW1.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/s-NCKnqD.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/BIFBIr7N.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/BSsPLIeu.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/Df1qS2bJ.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/CDhTd-cO.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/BTgEStKm.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/5LR6s1Aa.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/BV02q3lY.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/Bncb3ns6.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/PyUkukWS.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/Djmo_dob.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/B_6Cfw0V.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/BJ53qGOO.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/BkYquiqn.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/BoPtxUSF.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/C06mEj3M.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/BBMos-xA.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/DmQ-d2Wi.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/DTf1Xskn.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/BVqA7Qy6.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/D94jWepL.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/qV04jTXN.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/BdT9yhKt.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/ZAviGGBy.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/DJq4byii.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/D7zeMgu3.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/C9Xu9bXA.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/Cib6I9qb.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/BVDRCIo82.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/BEuxdDIo.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/BPs8Pn7p.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/CZHET4Lm2.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/C_aUesM-2.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/RupkkUns2.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/PqRAzV1-2.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/BwWO1XWZ2.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/BXPCyMkT2.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/B7_wsgVL2.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/CoEAsu2b2.js"><link rel="modulepreload" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/Dw_tlOE52.js"><script type="module" src="/helios/_nuxt/m8m_iJPA.js" crossorigin></script><link rel="prefetch" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/BnFWYGW22.js"><link rel="prefetch" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/BrM55BfQ2.js"><link rel="prefetch" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/BCMGjvfg2.js"><link rel="prefetch" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/B32DNwct2.js"><link rel="prefetch" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/M5Gxwg0N2.js"><link rel="prefetch" as="script" crossorigin href="/helios/_nuxt/DMPb4vj1.js"><link rel="icon" sizes="48x48" href="https://www.politico.com/favicon.ico?v=2"><link rel="icon" sizes="any" type="image/svg+xml" href="https://www.politico.com/favicon.svg?v=2"><link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="https://static.politico.com/6b/bb/dfaa58914f269b548734c4d73842/apple-touch-icon.png?v=2"><script type="application/ld+json" data-hid="publisher-ldjson">{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","@id":"https://www.politico.com/#publisher","name":"POLITICO","url":"https://www.politico.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://www.politico.com/dims4/default/resize/1200/quality/90/format/png?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.politico.com%2F3d%2Fee%2Ff4d549cf4e548af6712990ce5b9e%2Fpolitico-cms-shared-graphic-1120x629.jpg"},"sameAs":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politico"}</script><script data-hid="article-ldjson" type="application/ld+json">{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","description":"The Congressional Budget Office said the prolonged military campaign will hit $2 billion to $3 billion a month.","headline":"Iran war has cost taxpayers $38B — and counting","alternativeHeadline":"Iran war has cost taxpayers $38B — and counting","url":"https://www.politico.com/news/2026/09/15/iran-war-cbo-01077533","inLanguage":"EN","copyrightYear":2026,"mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://www.politico.com/news/2026/09/15/iran-war-cbo-01077533"},"dateCreated":"2026-09-15T18:12+0000","datePublished":"2026-09-15T18:12+0000","dateModified":"2026-09-15T19:27+0000","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Connor O'Brien","url":"https://www.politico.com/staff/connor-obrien"},"publisher":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","@id":"https://www.politico.com/#publisher","name":"Politico","url":"https://www.politico.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://www.politico.com/dims4/default/9328d89/2147483647/resize/1200x/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.politico.com%2F6d%2F9f%2F1e153a1748fa9ea656c575dc6dff%2Fpolitico-logo-60px-tall-1.png","height":60,"width":240,"creditText":"Politico","contentUrl":"https://www.politico.com/dims4/default/9328d89/2147483647/resize/1200x/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.politico.com%2F6d%2F9f%2F1e153a1748fa9ea656c575dc6dff%2Fpolitico-logo-60px-tall-1.png"}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://www.politico.com/dims4/default/resize/1200x/quality/90/?url=https://static.politico.com/72/6f/0a4c972545679e205dc88f87d345/https-delivery-gettyimages.com/downloads/2294742893","width":1200,"caption":"Iranians walk past a wall decorated with the image of assassinated Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran on Monday.","creditText":"Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images","contentUrl":"https://www.politico.com/dims4/default/resize/1200x/quality/90/?url=https://static.politico.com/72/6f/0a4c972545679e205dc88f87d345/https-delivery-gettyimages.com/downloads/2294742893","thumbnailUrl":"https://prod.politico.com/dims4/default/resize/400x/quality/90/?url=https://static.politico.com/72/6f/0a4c972545679e205dc88f87d345/https-delivery-gettyimages.com/downloads/2294742893"},"hasPart":[{"@type":"WebPageElement","cssSelector":".public-article-content","value":"The first five months of the Iran war cost the U.S. $38 billion, according to Congress’ nonpartisan scorekeeper, the most comprehensive look at the extended military conflict ahead of the midterm elections.\n\nThe Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday that the conflict — which has cost more than half of the Trump administration’s total war spending request — would reach about $2 billion to $3 billion a month. The agency also confirmed that the war has depleted U.S. weapons stockpiles, including critical interceptors for air defenses.\n\nThe independent estimate — the latest to reflect the financial ramifications of the war on taxpayers — will likely add to the political firestorm over the conflict as November elections near.\n\nCBO said its $38.1 billion estimate for the war, which the U.S. launched alongside Israel in February, reflects munitions and equipment, an increased rate of military operations and higher fuel prices.","isAccessibleForFree":true}],"isAccessibleForFree":false}</script><script type="text/javascript"> const breakpointObj = { "viewBreak": 1020, "breakArray": [650, 980, 1020, 1335] }; const isStorageEnabled = () => { …