US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has made initial comments and faced questions from lawmakers about the US-Israel war on Iran during his first testimony to Congress since the start of the conflict on February 28, which has killed or wounded thousands and caused one of the biggest energy supply shocks in modern history.
Appearing before the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday, Hegseth in his initial comments defended the Trump administration’s proposed $1.5 trillion defence budget, calling the massive increase essential to meet “current urgency,“ expand the defence industrial base and replenish stocks of munitions depleted by the two-month-old war.
Hegseth emphasised the need for more drones, advanced missile-defense systems and additional warships to sustain operations in the region.
Lawmakers from both parties have previously expressed dissatisfaction with the information provided in classified briefings on the war, setting up a fiery public hearing in which top US military officer General Dan Caine is also testifying.
“The biggest challenge, the biggest adversary, we face at this point are the reckless, feckless and defeatist words of congressional Democrats and some Republicans,” the US defence secretary told lawmakers.
Representative Adam Smith, the ranking Democrat, told Hegseth that he finds it “absurd” to claim that the Pentagon’s strategy is built on realism when the war in Iran seems like “the exact opposite of realism.”
Smith also said Hegseth needs to explain what the Trump administration’s goals were for the conflict.
“We’ve seen the cost, and the cost is very, very high,” he said.
“We started a full scale war in the Middle East against Iran to try to reshape the Middle East,” Smith said, adding that was the exact opposite of realism.
Smith said Hegseth needs to provide an explanation of what the Trump administration’s goals are in the Middle East.