WASHINGTON—Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used his first appearance before Congress since the start of the President Donald Trump’s war on Iran to declare that the “worst adversary” faced by the U.S. is the American people’s opposition to the administration’s policy.
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.
“The biggest challenge, the biggest adversary we face at this point are the reckless, feckless, and defeatist words of congressional Democrats and some Republicans,” Hegseth said.
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.
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 “depletion of weapons stockpiles” that might be needed to carry out U.S. policy elsewhere.
What did move some to condemn Trump’s war was the bombing of a school at which Iranian students were killed.
Republicans, by contrast, focused on the details of military engagement but, for the most part, continued to express support for Trump’s war.
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’s nuclear capability had been “obliterated.”
Hegseth told Democratic Rep. Adam Smith that Iran’s nuclear facilities were indeed obliterated in the 2025 strikes, prompting Smith to question the administration’s reasoning for starting the current war less than a year after that claim was made.
The White House has been saying, despite those earlier claims, that ending Iranian nuclear capabilities is a major focus of their war effort.
“We had to start this war, you just said 60 days ago, because the nuclear weapon was an imminent threat,” said Smit. “Now you’re saying that it was completely obliterated?”
Hegseth responded that Iran “had not given up their nuclear ambitions” and still had thousands of missiles capable of carrying such weapons.
Iran’s closing of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping corridor for the world’s oil, has sent fuel prices skyrocketing and infused fear into Republicans ahead of the midterm elections. The U.S. has imposed a naval blockade of Iranian shipping, and three American aircraft carriers are in the Middle East for the first time in more than 20 years.
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.
“Secretary Hegseth, you have been lying to the American public about this war from day one, and so has the president,” said Rep. John Garamendi of California, who called the war “a geopolitical calamity,” a “strategic blunder,” and a “self-inflicted wound to America.”
“Who are you cheering for here?” Hegseth shot back. “Your hatred for President Trump blinds you to the success of the war.”
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.
A good example of that was when Hegseth faced questions from Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, a Pennsylvania Democrat, about his decision to oust the Army’s highest-ranked uniformed officer, Gen. Randy George, one of several top military officials to be dismissed since Trump returned to power.
Hegseth has said the move and other firings were building a “warrior culture” at the Pentagon.
Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina defended Hegseth’s firings, claiming he is “trying to innovate and trying to change the way we do business” at the Pentagon.
“I’m glad that you’re firing people,” Mace said. “There are people there that are getting in your way. They need to go.”
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.
It was clear from Hegseth’s 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’s proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for the lifting of the U.S. blockade.
AP contributed reporting for this article.
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