Senate Republicans voiced increasing concern that the administration lacks a clear plan to end the conflict with Iran after Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s hearing. Their unease matters because it exposes divisions within the president’s party over a war that is becoming more costly, carries growing US casualties and may damage Republican prospects in the midterm elections.

Lawmakers were dissatisfied with Hegseth’s case for roughly $80 billion in further emergency war funding. They also pointed to persistently high petrol prices and questioned how long the conflict could continue, while the wider debate includes the strain on US munitions, military strategy and Congress’s role in authorising the war.