Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks to members of the media during a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington on Thursday. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon is seeking $200 billion in additional funds for the Iran war, a sizable amount that is certain to be met with questions from Congress, which would need to approve any new money.

The department sent the request to the White House, according to a senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private information. Asked about the figure at a press conference Thursday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did not directly confirm the amount, saying it could change.

“It takes money to kill bad guys,” Hegseth said.

But he said “we’re going back to Congress and our folks there to ensure that we’re properly funded.”

It’s an extraordinarily high number and comes on top of extra funding the Defense Department already received last year in President Donald Trump’s big tax cuts bill. Such a request would need to be approved by Congress, and it is not at all clear such spending would have political support. The nation’s debt has surged past a record $39 trillion.

Congress has been bracing for a new spending request but it is not clear the White House has transmitted the request for consideration. Lawmakers have not authorized the war, and Congress is showing growing unease with the military operation’s scope and strategy.

The new funding request was first reported by The Washington Post.

Trump said the administration is asking for the money for other reasons beyond Iran.

“This is a very volatile world,” the president said from the Oval Office. He said the emergency spending would be a “very small price to pay” to ensure the nation’s military stays in top shape.

While the House and Senate are controlled by the president’s Republican Party many of the more conservative lawmakers are also fiscal hawks, with little political appetite for big spending, on military operations or other matters. Most Democrats are likely to reject such a request and demand more detailed plans from the Trump administration about the U.S. military goals and objectives.

Rep. Ken Calvert, the Republican chair of the House subcommittee with oversight over defense spending, said he was already advocating for a supplemental spending bill to allow the Pentagon to replenish munitions.

“That was going to happen, and now we have this conflict with some additional costs. So, that’s where we’re at,” Calvert of California said Thursday.

“I know there are peripheral issues out there that people are concerned about, but right now, this is about our national security and it’s important that we get this done,” he said.

But Rep. Betty McCollum of Minnesota, the ranking Democrat on the House subcommittee with oversight over defense spending, said the president has taken the U.S. into a war without coming to Congress and she’s demanding more details.

“This is not going to be a rubber stamp for the president of the United States,” McCollum said.

She said Congress is still waiting for the administration to explain where it would be spending the additional $150 billion funding that went to the Pentagon through Trump’s tax and spending cut bill. It’s also waiting on the president’s budget request for this year.