WASHINGTON (Gray DC) -WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth testified before Congress on Tuesday to defend President Trump’s proposed $1.5 trillion defense budget for fiscal year 2027, facing sharp criticism from Democratic lawmakers over the ongoing conflict with Iran.
“It was all in service of ensuring Iran never has a nuclear weapon,” Hegseth said during back-to-back hearings.
Democratic lawmakers challenged the administration’s strategy, saying it lacks clarity and coherence.
“This administration has not presented Congress with any kind of clear or coherent strategy. Week to week, day to day hour to hour, the rationale shifts. The objectives change. The end game is ill defined when it is defined at all,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn.
When pressed about military operations in Iran, including a short-lived vessel escort program through the Strait of Hormuz called “Project Freedom,” Hegseth declined to provide details.
“Can you give us the latest on Project Freedom as it pertains to battlefield options?” asked Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif.
“We don’t disclose those types of things,” Hegseth said.
Lawmakers also questioned why the administration did not anticipate Iran’s move to restrict oil trade through the Strait of Hormuz.
“This was not just foreseeable. It was foreseen,” said Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii. “You don’t need to get into a SCIF to understand that their likely play was to asymmetrically retaliate and then to close the strait. And then it happened. And then the president said, gosh, who could have seen this coming.”
Intelligence suggests Iran can withstand many more months of conflict, meaning costs for taxpayers will continue to rise. So far the war has cost a conservative estimate of $29 billlion. Congress has not approved military action against Iran.
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