{"id":49504,"date":"2026-04-29T16:34:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T16:34:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/49504\/"},"modified":"2026-04-29T16:34:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T16:34:15","slug":"democrats-confront-hegseth-about-iran-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/49504\/","title":{"rendered":"Democrats confront Hegseth about Iran war"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Skeptical Democrats confronted Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Wednesday for the first time since the Trump administration went to war with Iran<\/a>, touching off tense exchanges over a costly conflict with unclear objectives that has been waged without congressional approval.<\/p>\n

The hearing before the House Armed Services Committee was focused on the administration\u2019s 2027 military budget proposal<\/a>, which would boost defense spending to a historic $1.5 trillion. Hegseth and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, stressed the need for more drones, missile defense systems and warships.<\/p>\n

Democrats quickly pivoted to the ballooning costs of the war<\/a>, the huge drawdown of critical U.S. munitions<\/a> and the bombing of a school that killed children<\/a>. Some lawmakers also questioned Trump\u2019s dealings with allies and President Donald Trump\u2019s shifting justification for the conflict<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The war has cost $25 billion so far, the chief financial official for the Pentagon told lawmakers. Jules Hurst III, the acting undersecretary of war for finances, said most of that money was spent on munitions. The military has also spent money on running the operations and replacing equipment.<\/p>\n

Hegseth dismissed criticism of the war as political and said lawmakers who have raised questions about it are one of the greatest challenges facing the U.S. military.<\/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

Democrats press Hegseth over Iran\u2019s nuclear program, war\u2019s impact<\/p>\n

In one tense exchange, Hegseth told Democratic Rep. Adam Smith that Iran\u2019s nuclear facilities were obliterated in a 2025 attack by the U.S., prompting Smith to question the Trump administration\u2019s reasoning for starting the Iran war less than a year later.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had to start this war, you just said 60 days ago, because the nuclear weapon was an imminent threat,\u201d said Smith, the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee. \u201cNow you\u2019re saying that it was completely obliterated?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hegseth responded by saying that Iran \u201chad not given up their nuclear ambitions\u201d and still had thousands of missiles.<\/p>\n

Smith said the war \u201cleft us at exactly the same place we were before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Democrats accused Hegseth of mismanaging the war and lying to Americans about the reasons for the conflict and said rising gas prices are now threatening the pocketbooks 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 \u201dself-inflicted wound to America.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hegseth blasted Garamandi\u2019s remarks.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho are you cheering for here?\u201d he asked the lawmaker. \u201dYour hatred for President Trump blinds you\u201d to the success of the war.<\/p>\n

Lawmakers want answers about war\u2019s justifications and cost<\/p>\n

While a fragile ceasefire<\/a> is now in place, the U.S. and Israel launched the war Feb. 28 without congressional oversight. House and Senate Democrats have failed to pass<\/a> multiple war power resolutions<\/a> that would have required President Donald Trump to halt the conflict until Congress authorizes further action.<\/p>\n

Republicans say<\/a> they will keep faith in Trump\u2019s wartime leadership, for now, citing Iran\u2019s nuclear program, the potential for talks to resume and the high stakes of withdrawal. Still, GOP lawmakers are eager for the conflict to end, and some are eyeing future votes that could become an important test for the president if the war drags on.<\/p>\n

While Democrats pressed Hegseth and Caine over Iran, Republicans focused their questions on the Department of Defense\u2019s budget proposal, not the management of the war.<\/p>\n

Republican Rep. Mike Rogers, chairman of the committee, opened the hearing by noting Trump\u2019s call to increase military spending. He pointed to recent increases in defense spending by China, Russia and Iran.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have enough munitions, ships, aircraft or autonomous systems to ensure dominance against every adversary,\u201d Rogers said. \u201cThey are spending more of their GDP on defense than we are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s closing of the Strait of Hormuz<\/a>, a vital shipping corridor for the world\u2019s oil, has sent fuel prices skyrocketing<\/a> and posed problems for Republicans ahead of the midterm elections. The U.S. has responded with a Navy blockade of Iranian shipping<\/a> and further built up its military forces in the region. Three American aircraft carriers are in the Middle East for the first time in more than 20 years.<\/p>\n

The countries appear locked in a stalemate<\/a>, with Trump unlikely to accept Tehran\u2019s latest offer to reopen the strait if the U.S. ends the war, lifts its sea blockade and postpones nuclear talks.<\/p>\n

Hegseth has avoided public questioning from lawmakers about the war, although he and Caine have held televised Pentagon briefings. Hegseth has mostly taken questions from conservative journalists, while citing Bible passages to castigate mainstream outlets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Skeptical Democrats confronted Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Wednesday for the first time since the Trump…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":49505,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[120],"tags":[12839,12,1665,4217,34,3963,197,12164,30755,30756,10955,2507,18,51,6844,5396,6238,3773,4128,1194,52],"class_list":{"0":"post-49504","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pete-hegseth","8":"tag-dan-caine","9":"tag-donald-trump","10":"tag-general-news","11":"tag-government-and-politics","12":"tag-iran","13":"tag-iran-government","14":"tag-iran-war","15":"tag-israel-government","16":"tag-john-garamendi","17":"tag-jules-hurst-iii","18":"tag-mike-rogers","19":"tag-military-and-defense","20":"tag-pete-hegseth","21":"tag-politics","22":"tag-u-s-democratic-party","23":"tag-u-s-department-of-defense","24":"tag-u-s-republican-party","25":"tag-united-states-government","26":"tag-war-and-unrest","27":"tag-washington-news","28":"tag-world-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@people\/116488966351798932","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49504","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49504"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49504\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49505"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}