The Trump administration is considering escalating its war against Iran after having asked for a stunning amount of funding from Congress.

As the administration continues to struggle to gain control of the Strait of Hormuz after nearly three weeks of war, it is looking into the possibility of actually sending U.S. forces onto the Iranian coast, Reuters reported Wednesday.

The administration is now “considering deploying thousands of additional troops to the Middle East as the military prepares options for the possible next phase of the Iran war,” Reuters’ chief national security reporter, Phil Stewart, wrote on X.

“One option for securing the Strait of Hormuz includes deploying troops to Iranian shores,” he added.

The Straight of Hormuz is a critical shipping route that sees the passage of about a fifth of global oil supplies. After the U.S. and Israel launched strikes at Iran on Feb. 28, Iran closed the strait, and the threat of mines and other forms of attack have curtailed traffic.

Trump administration officials have refused to rule out a boots-on-the-ground approach in the war. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that 5,000 Marines were being sent to the region as part of an “Amphibious Ready Group.”

The U.S. death toll is currently 13.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth earlier this month lashed out at the press for what he claimed was an attempt to focus too much on casualties to make Trump “look bad.”

Meanwhile, the war’s price tag continues to rise.

The Pentagon has asked the White House to request more than $200 billion in funding from Congress, the Washington Post reported. The Pentagon had considered several funding requests since the war began, a senior administration official and three others familiar with the matter said. Deputy Defense Secretary Steven Feinberg led that effort.

The war cost approximately $11.3 billion in just the first week.

With 60 votes needed in the Senate to approve war funding, the Trump administration will need support from some Democrats who have largely opposed the war. The administration official told the Post that some White House officials think the Pentagon is asking for too much.

By contrast, by last December, the U.S. had approved about $188 billion in Ukraine aid, according to the U.S. special inspector general for that operation. Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. The U.S. and Israel first struck Iran less than three weeks ago.

The Daily Beast has contacted the White House and the Pentagon for comment.

The Trump administration on Tuesday saw its first resignation over the war.

Joe Kent, who had led the National Counterterrorism Center, wrote that he “cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran.”

“Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby,” he added, contradicting Trump and other senior officials.