Pentagon scrambles to pay for Middle East troop buildup

The Defense Department has ordered an additional aircraft carrier strike group, air defenses, fighter jets and hundreds of troops to the Middle East since the surprise terrorist attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, in an effort to prevent the conflict from spiraling into a regional war.

The problem: Congressional dysfunction means the Pentagon has no money to pay for the buildup.

The military, like the rest of the federal government, is operating under a temporary funding measure that freezes spending at the previous year’s levels. And because the Middle East troop movements weren’t planned, the Pentagon has had to pull money from existing operations and maintenance accounts, DOD spokesperson Chris Sherwood said.

Because DOD had to hunt for funds, that means less money for training, exercises, and deployments the military had already planned for the year. Some of these efforts could get canceled or delayed, Sherwood said.