WASHINGTON (Gray DC) -WASHINGTON \u2014 Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth testified before Congress on Tuesday to defend President Trump\u2019s proposed $1.5 trillion defense budget for fiscal year 2027, facing sharp criticism from Democratic lawmakers over the ongoing conflict with Iran.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was all in service of ensuring Iran never has a nuclear weapon,\u201d Hegseth said during back-to-back hearings.<\/p>\n
Democratic lawmakers challenged the administration\u2019s strategy, saying it lacks clarity and coherence.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis 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,\u201d said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn.<\/p>\n
When pressed about military operations in Iran, including a short-lived vessel escort program through the Strait of Hormuz called \u201cProject Freedom,\u201d Hegseth declined to provide details.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you give us the latest on Project Freedom as it pertains to battlefield options?\u201d asked Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t disclose those types of things,\u201d Hegseth said.<\/p>\n
Lawmakers also questioned why the administration did not anticipate Iran\u2019s move to restrict oil trade through the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was not just foreseeable. It was foreseen,\u201d said Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii. \u201cYou don\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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