Hegseth House testimony live updates

What to know​

  • Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine and Pentagon chief financial officer Jules “Jay” Hurst are testifying before the House Armed Services Committee about the Pentagon’s record $1.5 trillion budget request for fiscal year 2027.
  • Members of Congress have been grilling the men about the costs of the Iran war, its economic fallout and the Trump administration’s strategy for winding down the conflict, which is in its ninth week.
  • Democrats and Republicans have shown interest in invoking the War Powers Resolution of 1973, which requires the president to seek congressional approval for an armed conflict lasting more than 60 days. The federal law provides for a 30-day withdrawal period, giving the Trump administration until June to pull out of the war.
 

Hegseth grows more defensive and irate as hearing continues​



As the hearing stretched into its fourth hour, Hegseth began lashing out at some of the Democrats who had sharper lines of questioning for him. He interrupted and snapped at multiple lawmakers, raising his voice.

During an exchange with Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Pa., over U.S. service members’ claims about defensive weaknesses at the U.S. base in Kuwait, Hegseth grew so irate that Rogers, the GOP committee chair, urged Trump’s defense secretary to “control” his response.

“Nobody cares more about the fate of our troops,” Hegseth said, pointing to himself.

“Mr. Secretary,” Rogers said, as Hegseth complained about Deluzio. “I understand, but he controls the time. He controls the time. You get to control your answer.”
 

Hegseth refuses to say whether he will deploy troops to polling places on Trump’s request​



Hegseth tried to dodge Rep. Jill Tokuda’s, D-Hawaii, questions about whether he will deploy troops to polling places during an election at Trump’s request.

“What you’re trying to insinuate is that the president would give unlawful orders and we would somehow deploy troops as a result,” Hegseth said.

Tokuda noted that Trump told The New York Times in January that he regretted not ordering the National Guard to seize voting machines in battleground states after he lost the 2020 election.

Hegseth then brought up former President Joe Biden and laughed at Tokuda’s questions while refusing to give her a straight answer.
 

Testy exchange between Hegseth, Ryan over drone attack that killed 6 U.S. troops​


Hegseth grew defensive when asked about the deadly drone attack on an American base in Kuwait in the early days of the U.S.-Israel war with Iran that killed six U.S. service members.

Rep. Patrick Ryan, D-N.Y., referenced interviews from several American troops, who alleged deficiencies in the base’s defense. As Ryan and Hegseth spoke over each other, the defense secretary snapped, “Can I speak or you just going to monologue falsehoods all over the place?”

Hegseth interrupted again as Ryan raised his voice to reclaim his time.

“Just because you yell doesn’t make you right,” he said.
 

Hegseth gets defensive about Trump’s social media posts​


Hegseth found himself in another fiery exchange after Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., asked him about Trump’s expletive-laced Easter message to Iran, in which he wrote, in part, “Open the F—-n’ Strait, you crazy bastards!”

“My offices’ phones have been ringing of the hook. I’ve heard from so many military families concerned about the president’s mental fitness, and whether he’s fit to serve as our commander in chief given that he’s sending their loved ones into harm’s way,” said Jacobs, who represents much of San Diego, the nation’s largest military community. “Our troops, who have shown incredibly bravery and tactical proficiency, deserve to know that their leaders are focused and stable.”

She added, “Do you believe the president is mentally stable enough to be the commander in chief?”

She showed Hegseth a picture of Trump’s now-deleted post, in which the president shared an artificial intelligence-generated image that appeared to depict him as Jesus Christ.

“Did you ask the same question of Joe Biden,” Hegseth said in response, adding, “I won’t even engage with the level of disparagement that you’re putting on the commander in chief,” whom he called “the sharpest, most insightful” leader.

“I’m not here to explain posts,” Hegseth told Jacobs.

“Mr. Secretary, if you think this is what winning looks like, then maybe we should be questioning your mental stability,” Jacobs said. “Maybe you are the one responsible for this failure and the president should think about replacing you.”
 

Bipartisan push for answers on Hegseth’s purge of Pentagon officials​



It’s not just Democrats who have pressed Hegseth on his purge of Pentagon leaders.

Rep. Jennifer Kiggans, R-Va., a former Navy pilot, asked Hegseth to “shed any light” on why he removed former Secretary of the Navy John Phelan and requested he provide a timeline for a permanent replacement.

Phelan previously oversaw Trump’s push to accelerate shipbuilding, and Hegesth appeared to suggest Phelan was not moving quickly enough for the president’s liking.

“Ultimately, it was time for a new leadership and a new direction, as far as running fast toward those objectives, and so we made a change,” Hegseth said. “Personnel is policy.”

Earlier, Bacon, another Republican on the committee, expressed “concern” over the firings.

“You have the constitutional right to do these things, but it doesn’t make it right or wise,” Bacon said.

Hegseth also repeatedly dodged Rep. Marilyn Strickland’s, D-Wash., questions about his firing of former Army Chief of Staff Randy George.
 

Hegseth refuses to answer questions on cost to U.S. households​


Rep. Ro Khanna grilled the defense secretary about the cost of the war for average Americans.

“Do you know how much it will cost Americans in terms of their increased cost in gas and food over the next year because of the Iran war?” Khanna, a California Democrat, asked.

“I would simply ask you what the cost is of an Iranian nuclear bomb,” Hegseth said, saying Khanna was asking “gotcha” questions.

Khanna tried again: “Do you not know? You had no one do the analysis of what the increased cost of gas and food on the American people are going to be?”

Hegseth deflected again before Khanna answered his own question: “It’s $631 billion, which means it’s an increase of $5,000 a year for American households.”

“It’s the incompetence!” Khanna exclaimed.
 

Hegseth confronted on war timeline​



Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., fired off a string of questions to Hegseth that the defense secretary struggled to answer.

Moulton pressed Hegseth on his criticism of Democrats who oppose the war, the United States’ progress on the conflict and the advice Hegseth and other top officials gave Trump before he ordered a military assault on Iran.

Hegseth called the war an “astounding military success” and cast blame on past administrations for their Iran policies.

“You’ve already said, ‘Give us more time. It’s only been two months.’ It could go on for 20 years like Iraq and Afghanistan,” Moulton said. “Let’s just say it costs $100 billion — what is that to the average American taxpayer? Do you have any idea?”
 

Moulton likens Persian Gulf blockade to a game of tag​


“Do you call closing the Strait of Hormuz ‘winning’?” Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., asked Hegseth.
 
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