![\"Hegseth:](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Hegseth-Congress-hearing.jpg\")
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Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth appears before the House Armed Services Committee on April 29, 2026. He justified firings at the Pentagon as attempts to improve the ‘warrior culture’ there. | Rod Lamkey Jr. \/ AP<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON\u2014Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used his first appearance before Congress since the start of the President Donald Trump\u2019s war on Iran to declare that the \u201cworst adversary\u201d faced by the U.S. is the American people\u2019s opposition to the administration\u2019s policy.<\/p>\n
Speaking at a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee on Thursday, Hegseth scoffed at challenges related to the cost or illegality of the war and attacked lawmakers who dared raise any criticism.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe biggest challenge, the biggest adversary we face at this point are the reckless, feckless, and defeatist words of congressional Democrats and some Republicans,\u201d Hegseth said.<\/p>\n
Some congressional Democrats focused on the approximately one-billion-dollar-a-day cost of the war and its connection to the rising costs of almost all basic necessities.<\/p>\n
Others, rather than expressing opposition to the immoral and unconstitutional nature of the war on Iran, focused instead on what they saw as an unwise \u201cdepletion of weapons stockpiles\u201d that might be needed to carry out U.S. policy elsewhere.<\/p>\n
What did move some to condemn Trump\u2019s war was the bombing of a school at which Iranian students were killed.<\/p>\n
Republicans, by contrast, focused on the details of military engagement but, for the most part, continued to express support for Trump\u2019s war.<\/p>\n
One particularly strong debate that broke out during the hearing was triggered by Hegseth when he repeated false claims by Trump, who said after previous U.S. bombings of Iran in 2025 that the country\u2019s nuclear capability had been \u201cobliterated.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hegseth told Democratic Rep. Adam Smith that Iran\u2019s nuclear facilities were indeed obliterated in the 2025 strikes, prompting Smith to question the administration\u2019s reasoning for starting the current war less than a year after that claim was made.<\/p>\n
The White House has been saying, despite those earlier claims, that ending Iranian nuclear capabilities is a major focus of their war effort.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had to start this war, you just said 60 days ago, because the nuclear weapon was an imminent threat,\u201d said Smit. \u201cNow you\u2019re saying that it was completely obliterated?\u201d<\/p>\n
Hegseth responded that Iran \u201chad not given up their nuclear ambitions\u201d and still had thousands of missiles capable of carrying such weapons.<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s closing of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping corridor for the world\u2019s oil, has sent\u00a0fuel prices skyrocketing\u00a0and infused fear into Republicans ahead of the midterm elections. The U.S. has imposed a\u00a0naval blockade of Iranian shipping,\u00a0and three American aircraft carriers are in the Middle East for the first time in more than 20 years.<\/p>\n
Democrats accused Hegseth of misleading Americans about the reasons for the conflict and said the rising prices of gas and other items threaten the living standards of millions of people in the U.S.<\/p>\n
\u201cSecretary Hegseth, you have been lying to the American public about this war from day one, and so has the president,\u201d said Rep. John Garamendi of California, who called the war \u201ca geopolitical calamity,\u201d a \u201cstrategic blunder,\u201d and a \u201cself-inflicted wound to America.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho are you cheering for here?\u201d Hegseth shot back. \u201cYour hatred for President Trump blinds you to the success of the war.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Democrats, however, like Republicans, showed that they can get lost in the policy weeds by veering away from the basic issues of the illegality, unconstitutionality, and immorality of the war on Iran.<\/p>\n
A good example of that was when Hegseth faced questions from Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, a Pennsylvania Democrat, about his decision to\u00a0oust the Army\u2019s highest-ranked uniformed officer, Gen. Randy George, one of several top military officials to be dismissed since Trump returned to power.<\/p>\n
Hegseth has said the move and other firings were building a\u00a0\u201cwarrior culture\u201d\u00a0at the Pentagon.<\/p>\n
Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina defended Hegseth\u2019s firings, claiming he is \u201ctrying to innovate and trying to change the way we do business\u201d at the Pentagon.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m glad that you\u2019re firing people,\u201d Mace said. \u201cThere are people there that are getting in your way. They need to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hegseth tried but failed to win some Democrats over by telling supporters of Ukraine that the administration has helped that country in its war with Russia by releasing $400 million in previously appropriated military aid. No one seemed to be swayed into viewing Trump foreign policy more favorably by those remarks, however.<\/p>\n
It was clear from Hegseth\u2019s testimony that on the battlefield, all the propaganda aside, the war is in a stalemate. Reflecting that reality, Trump said Thursday that he is rejecting Iran\u2019s proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for the lifting of the U.S. blockade.<\/p>\n
AP contributed reporting for this article.<\/p>\n
We hope you appreciated this article. At\u00a0People\u2019s World, we believe news and information should be free and accessible to all, but we need your help. Our journalism is free of corporate influence and paywalls because we are totally reader-supported. Only you, our readers and supporters, make this possible. If you enjoy reading\u00a0People\u2019s World\u00a0and the stories we bring you, please\u00a0support our work by donating or becoming a monthly sustainer today<\/a>. Thank you!<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCONTRIBUTOR<\/p>\n
![\"John](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/200x230JohnWojcik-200x200.jpg\")
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