WASHINGTON: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth clashed with Democratic lawmakers in Congress for a second day Thursday, rejecting senators’ accusations that the Iran war was launched without evidence of an imminent threat and waged with no coherent strategy.
In his opening statements, Hegseth called Democratic lawmakers “reckless naysayers” and “defeatists from the cheap seats” who have failed to recognize the many successes of the US military against the Islamic Republic over the last two months and in other operations since President Donald Trump returned to office.
Hegseth said Trump has had the courage “unlike other presidents to ensure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon and that their nuclear blackmail never succeeds. We have the best negotiator in the world driving a great deal.”
Sen. Jack Reed, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, did not hold back in his opening statement, dressing down the defense secretary’s efforts to remake the military’s culture and warning that his actions could do long-term harm.
Reed argued that the war with Iran has left the US in a worse strategic position because the Strait of Hormuz is closed and 13 US military members have been killed. Many others have been injured, and equipment has been destroyed.
“The American people’s trust in our military took 250 years to build. You are dismantling it in a fraction of that time,” Reed concluded.
Republican chairman offers warmer welcome
Hegseth received a warmer welcome from Sen. Roger Wicker, the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, who kicked off the hearing by noting that the US is in the most dangerous security environment since World War II. He also praised Trump’s use of the military.
Through the war against Iran, Trump “has worked to remove the regime’s conventional military capabilities and force it back to the table for a permanent solution,” Wicker said.
He also praised Trump’s budget proposal for 2027.
“This $1.5 trillion request is chock full of important programs and initiatives that are absolutely necessary to secure American interest in the 21st century,” he said.
A day earlier, Hegseth battled with Democrats during a nearly six-hour House Armed Services Committee hearing, where he faced sharp questioning over the war’s costs in dollars, lives and diminishing stockpiles of critical weapons.
The Senate committee is hearing a similar presentation on the Trump administration’s 2027 military budget proposal, which would boost defense spending to historic levels. Hegseth and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, are again stressing the need for more drones, missile defense systems and warships.
They are also likely to face tough questions about American troop levels in Europe after Trump on Wednesday leveled a new threat against NATO ally Germany, suggesting he could soon reduce the US military presence in the country as he feuds with Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the Iran war.
