‘Shame On You’: Hegseth Slams Democrats in Fiery Committee Hearing Over Iran Conflict

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth opened a contentious House Armed Services Committee hearing on Wednesday by declaring that the “biggest adversary we face at this point are the reckless, feckless, and defeatist words of congressional Democrats and some Republicans.”The fiery opening remarks set the stage for a deeply fractured session centered on the Trump administration’s $1.5 trillion defense budget request and its ongoing, two-month-old military conflict with Iran.The most explosive exchange of the day occurred between Mr. Hegseth and Congressman John Garamendi of California. The Democratic lawmaker harshly questioned the strategic direction of the conflict, labeling the war a “serious self-inflicted wound to America” and accusing the administration of severe mismanagement. Citing the deaths of 13 U.S. personnel, hundreds of wounded troops, and a foreseeable blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Mr. Garamendi held nothing back in his assessment of the Pentagon’s leadership. “You have been lying to the American public about this war from day one, and so has the president,” he said to Mr. Hegseth.Mr. Garamendi further accused the administration of presenting ever-changing justifications for the conflict. He argued that while the military had achieved tactical success, the overall strategy was an “astounding incompetence,” and declared that Mr. Trump is “stuck in a quagmire” in the Middle East.Mr. Hegseth fiercely rejected the criticism, arguing that calling the conflict a quagmire delivers a clear propaganda victory to America’s enemies.“Shame on you, calling this a quagmire two months in. The effort, what they’ve undertaken, what they’ve succeeded, the success on the battlefield that could create strategic opportunities, the courage of a president to confront a nuclear Iran, and you call it a quagmire, handing propaganda to our enemies,” Mr. Hegseth said.He continued his defense of the administration’s military strategy, rebuking the Californian’s stance. “Shame on you for that statement, and statements like that are reckless to our troops. Don’t say I support the troops on one hand, and then a two-month mission is a quagmire. That’s a false equivalation. [sic] Who are you cheering for here? Who you pulling for? Our troops are doing incredible work. They’ve done incredible things for the entirety of this mission and achieved incredible battlefield successes,” he said. “Your hatred for President Trump blinds you,” Mr. Hegseth added.The secretary’s “shame” comment mirrored protesters, who shouted “Have you no shame?” as the secretary arrived on Capitol Hill. Others shouted that he is a “war criminal” and should be arrested.The confrontation with Mr. Garamendi was just one part of a broader wave of pushback from skeptical Democrats, who used the committee hearing to confront the defense secretary for the first time since the administration bypassed congressional approval to initiate the war. Lawmakers pressed Mr. Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Dan Caine on the rapidly ballooning costs of the conflict and its unclear long-term objectives.During the hearing, Jules Hurst III, the Pentagon’s acting chief financial officer, revealed the steep financial toll of the conflict. “So approximately, at this day, we’re spending about $25 billion on Operation Epic Fury. Most of that is munitions,” Mr. Hurst confirmed to the committee.Congressman Mike Rogers, chairman of the committee, opened the hearing by saying the Pentagon needs more money to keep up with recent increases in defense spending by China, Russia, and Iran. “We don’t have enough munitions, ships, aircraft, or autonomous systems to ensure dominance against every adversary,” Mr. Rogers said. “They are spending more of their GDP on defense than we are.”Congressman Ro Khanna railed at the defense secretary, asking, “Do you know how much it will cost Americans in terms of their increased cost in gas and food over the next year because of Iran?” Mr. Hegseth called the query a “gotcha” question, asking the California Democrat, “What would you pay to ensure Iran does not get a nuclear bomb?”Beyond the financial cost, skeptical Democrats zeroed in on the shifting rationale for the invasion. Congressman Adam Smith, the ranking Democrat on the committee, challenged Mr. Hegseth over the status of Iran’s nuclear program. After Mr. Hegseth claimed earlier strikes had obliterated Iranian nuclear facilities, Mr. Smith questioned the true motivation for the current war.“We had to start this war, you just said 60 days ago, because the nuclear weapon was an imminent threat,” he said. “Now you’re saying that it was completely obliterated?”When Mr. Hegseth argued that Iran still harbored nuclear ambitions and possessed thousands of missiles, Mr. Smith fired back, concluding that the $25 billion war had “left us at exactly the same place we were before.”Mr. Hegseth made clear that under his reign, America’s military will change. “The War Department will not be distracted by democracy building, interventionism, undefined wars, regime change, climate change, woke moralizing, and feckless nation-building,” Mr. Hegseth said in his opening statement. “We will instead put our nation’s practical, concrete interests first. We will deter war. We will advance American interests. We will defend our people. Peace is our goal — and in service of that objective, we will always be ready to fight and win decisively if called upon,” he said.

‘Shame On You’: Hegseth Slams Democrats in Fiery Committee Hearing Over Iran Conflict

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