Jules “Jay” Hurst III, President Trump’s nominee to serve as the Pentagon’s comptroller, frustrated Democratic lawmakers Tuesday when he told a Senate panel that he does not have an updated estimate of the cost of the Iran war.
As acting Pentagon comptroller, Hurst told lawmakers in May that the war had cost $29 billion up to that point, but that estimate did not include the significant potential costs of repairing damage from Iranian attacks on U.S. bases in the Persian Gulf region.
More recently, unofficial estimates peg the cost of the war north of $100 billion.
Hurst was nominated in May to serve as Pentagon comptroller on a permanent basis.
Asked at a confirmation hearing Tuesday for the Defense Department’s latest cost assessment, he said that he does not have an updated number because he stopped performing the duties of acting comptroller once he was nominated for the permanent job. If confirmed, he said, he would work to get lawmakers the updated number.
Democrats expressed irritation at that response.
“Mr. Hurst, I’m unpersuaded by your professions of ignorance about the cost of the war. You were the acting comptroller, chief financial officer of the Department of Defense until May 20th. That’s about seven weeks ago. And to sit here today and say, ‘Well, I don’t really know and I’m not in the position’ — come on, you had to know this question was going to come up at this hearing today. How much has the Iran war cost the American people?”
Hurst responded that the cost was $29 billion at the time he left the acting comptroller position and that he felt it was inappropriate to ask for an updated estimate because that is not his current role at the Pentagon.
“I think it’s very frustrating to the American people that we can’t get a straight answer on what this war is costing, not to mention what it is costing and has cost the American people at the gas pump and in other costs.”
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand told Hurst that the American public is concerned about the lack of transparency and accountability regarding the war.
“The amount of spending is astronomical,” Gillibrand said, adding that the American public would prefer to see the $67 billion that the Pentagon has requested for the war go toward other uses. “If they had a choice, they’d rather $67 billion fund Medicaid and their healthcare. They’d rather have [a] $67 billion fund to get the cost of groceries down, to get the cost of fuel down.”
Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the committee, complained that the Pentagon has failed to provide requested information.
“We have had problems getting information from you and from the Department of Defense,” he told Hurst. “I can’t emphasize enough, and you know from your position, if we don’t know what is going on, then we’re not in a position to make judicious decisions. So it’s absolutely essential, and this has been a consistent hallmark of the department, not giving us the information we’re legally entitled to in a timely fashion.”
During his testimony, Hurst said that, if confirmed, he would work toward having the Pentagon pass a clean audit by 2028, better budget for the evolving nature of warfare and modernize the department’s financial systems and processes. He also argued that the Defense Department requires a generational investment by Congress to update decades-old systems.