SerpApi.Org
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was grilled at a Senate hearing on Tuesday as he, alongside Gen. Dan Caine, made the Trump administration's case for why the U.S. military requires some $87.6 billion in new funding, the majority of which would be directed toward the U.S. war on Iran.
Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia confronted Hegseth with an earlier assessment from the 14th day of the war, where Hegseth claimed Iran's military was "destroyed and... made combat ineffective."
Ossoff asked Hegseth if that was an accurate statement. Instead of answering "yes" or "no," Hegseth dodged the question and said: "They didn't have a navy any longer, it was completely sunk, their missiles were buried underneath a lot of their underground facilities, and their defense industrial bases had been almost completely destroyed, so as far as a military assessment of Iran's capability..."
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Ossoff repeated, "Mister Secretary, you stated that, on day 14 of this conflict, the second week of the conflict, you stated that Iran's military had been 'destroyed' and 'made combat ineffective.' Was that an accurate statement? Yes or no?"
Hegseth attempted to pivot by redefining the scope of the threat, starting to say, "Iran's ability to challenge the United States of America, at the level at which we're capable of..." prompting Ossoff to repeat his question once again.
Hegseth was also interrupted by protestors while speaking before lawmakers on Tuesday.
As Hegseth was speaking, a person behind him stood up, holding a banner that read, "NO WAR ON IRAN."
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"Stop bombing our children in Iran and Palestine, this is illegal!" the activist shouted. Hegseth immediately stopped talking as the demonstrator was removed from the hearing room.
Hegseth was allowed to reclaim his time to speak, since it was the second time he had been interrupted. He had difficulty getting started as he was interrupted by protester after protester, according to reporters in the room.
"Mr. Secretary, please," said Maine Sen. Susan Collins. "Suspend until order is restored in the hearing room."
Hegseth provided the new estimate, up from earlier assessments, during the hearing, which came days after the Pentagon announced that three more American service members have died in the conflict, bringing the death toll to 17, and that more than 100 have been injured since early July.
Hegseth said the supplemental war funding is an “urgent, necessary” injection of money, and with President Donald Trump’s proposed $1.5 trillion defense budget a generational investment in the military.
“Without these funds, we face critical shortfalls,” Hegseth testified.
But Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the panel, warned of “another forever war.”
“This war is now spiraling out of control again,” Murray said.
