The Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth clashed with Democratic senators at a hearing on Tuesday, accusing them of failing to provide leadership in the war with Iran and other areas.
Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., raised skepticism about Hegseth's plans to bring the protracted war with Iran to a close, accusing him of leaving the country in a worse position than when the war began.
Peters pressed Hegseth on whether the administration had a strategy to win the war, to which Hegseth fired back, pointing out that Democrats had allowed hesitations about border enforcement policies to extend to funding the government, including servicemembers.
The U.S. remains in a struggle with Tehran over control of the strait of Hormuz, a key waterway in the Middle East that acts as a bottleneck for much of the world's oil trade. Despite promises to end the conflict with Iran in under 60 days, multiple attempts to broker a peace deal have been unsuccessful.
Hegseth criticized Democrats for their lack of commitment to funding the Department of War, accusing them of having "Trump derangement syndrome" and failing to show political courage.
He also accused the Biden administration of ignoring hypersonics, a breakthrough technology that China achieved in 2019, and failing to invest in it.
The confrontation at the hearings comes as lawmakers weigh the Department of War's spending needs for 2027, with the administration requesting a record-breaking $1.5 trillion budget, a sizable increase over the roughly $900 billion Congress allocated for 2026.
