WATCH: Murkowski questions Hegseth on Trump 'restarting' the clock on the Iran war

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, questioned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in a hearing Tuesday before the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The Republican senator asked if the Trump administration’s position remained that it needed no authorization from Congress to continue the conflict with Iran.

Hegseth said the White House believed it had “all the authorities necessary at this moment.”

Murkowski cited the Clinton administration’s $6 billion supplemental funding request to continue military action in Kosovo in the late 1990s. Though Congress at the time didn’t approve of a standalone authorization for the use of U.S. military force in Kosovo, the administration reasoned that the approved funding did “substitute” for explicit congressional authorization of the conflict, she said.

The senator then asked if the Defense Department was looking to rely on that same reasoning with this supplemental budget request.

Hegseth said he’d have to consult with the legal department to answer that question.

Hegseth, Gen. Dan Caine, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins testified Tuesday before the Senate Appropriations Committee about the Trump administration’s $87.6 billion supplemental funding request, the bulk of which would be used for the U.S.war with Iran.

Their appearance before Senate lawmakers comes after the U.S. rolled out its 10th consecutive night of strikes against Iran. At least three American service members have been killed in recent days. As war between the two nations intensifies, the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, forcing U.S. gas prices to jump again.

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