NPR News: 07-21-2026 2PM EDT

Lakshmi Singh· Host0:01

Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. This afternoon, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will go before members of Congress who are considering a defense budget request. The White House is seeking more than eighty-seven billion dollars. This, in the wake of more US military losses since Friday in Jordan and in northern Iraq, where there was a drone attack at a US base. NPR's Quil Lawrence has more on the US war with Iran.

Quil Lawrence0:28

I, I spoke with three former US military officials about this new and rapidly evolving reality of drone warfare. One of them was General Joseph Votel, who formerly led CENTCOM. He said the US had built up power in the region by building these bases.

Joseph Votel· Soundbite0:42

Our strength for the last several decades has been our forward deployment and our positioning across the Gulf. Now we are seeing that that same advantage has turned into a little bit of a disadvantage.

Quil Lawrence0:54

In Iraq and Afghanistan, the enemy had no real range or air power, but now in the age of drone warfare, Iran doesn't even really need an air force because its drones can travel a thousand miles and hit US bases all over the region.

Lakshmi Singh· Host1:07

NPR's Quil Lawrence. The bulk of the White House's nearly ninety billion dollar request would be used in the war, but the remainder would be allocated for foreign aid, relief from the Ebola outbreak in Central Africa, as well as restoration and construction projects in the Washington, D.C., area. In a move that threatens to deepen an energy crisis stemming from the conflict in the Strait of Hormuz,