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Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth faced scrutiny from Democrats – and some Republicans – during a contentious Senate Appropriations Committee hearing about supplemental funding for the Iran war on Tuesday.
Hegseth appeared at the hearing alongside Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. As part of his testimony, Hegseth – who is requesting roughly $70 billion in additional funds for the war – said that the deadly confict had already cost a staggering $37.5 billion.
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“This request is an urgent, necessary injection of resources to address the immediate needs of our department,” Hegseth argued in opening remarks, which were interrupted by protesters expressing their opposition to the conflict.
President Donald Trump’s decision to ramp up strikes against Iran this past month has prompted concerns about the administration’s long-term strategy for the war and the possibility that the U.S. could become mired in the conflict.
Sens. John Kennedy (R-La.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) both grilled Hegseth on issues such as the U.S. military’s ability to undermine Iran’s nuclear capabilities and Trump’s compliance with the War Powers Resolution.
“Guys! We need straight answers. We need straight answers. Do we have the ability to destroy whatever is underneath Pickaxe Mountain?” Kennedy asked in apparent exasperation at one point.
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“A lot of our capabilities are classified, but if anybody in the world can reach anything on God’s green Earth, it’s the United States military, the most powerful military in the world,” Hegseth claimed.
The Republicans’ comments underscored the pushback that Trump’s war on Iran has received from lawmakers, including members of his own party, as the conflict has dragged on.
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Multiple Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday also questioned officials’ claims about how successful the war has been and slammed the Trump administration’s request for more funds to support it.
“[Trump] has told us over 40 times now that a deal is near, and the war will be over soon. But now, he’s asking for $70 billion more, and for us to just trust him it’ll work out fine,” Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the vice chair of the committee, said.
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In her remarks, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), the chair of the committee, also pressed Hegseth on his sidelining of women and people of color in the military.
“I find this deeply troubling,” Collins said. “Reports that women and people of color are disproportionately fired or sidelined create the impression that their service is not valued.”
According to a recent New York Times report, Hegseth blocked the promotions of seven senior Navy officers, most of whom were women or people of color.
