Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is heading back to Capitol Hill for a second day of hostile questioning, this time before the Senate Armed Services Committee, as lawmakers prepare to grill him on the spiraling expenses and strategy behind the escalating conflict with Iran.
Yesterday's nearly six-hour House hearing turned combative when Hegseth clashed with Democrats over the war's mounting toll. Rep. John Garamendi, a California Democrat, attacked the defense secretary for what he called "astounding incompetence" that had created a "political and economic disaster at every level." Garamendi directly accused the administration of getting stuck in "another quagmire" in the Middle East and urged the president to "extricate himself from his own mistakes."
Hegseth pushed back fiercely. "Your hatred for president Trump blinds you to the truth of the success of this mission," he said. "You call it a quagmire, handing propaganda to our enemies? Shame on you for that statement." When asked directly about whether the conflict could become a quagmire, Hegseth denied it flatly.
The Pentagon estimates the war has cost at least $25 billion so far. Lawmakers pressed Hegseth on weapon stockpiles, which are being depleted, and the human cost of ongoing operations. The Trump administration's 2027 military budget proposal, which the Senate will review during today's hearing, calls for defense spending to reach a historic $1.5 trillion.
The Senate hearing will include testimony from Dan Caine, the Pentagon's chief of staff, and Jules Hurst III, the chief financial officer. Democrats on Capitol Hill are showing no sign of backing down. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that his party will force another vote on a war powers resolution this week, the sixth such effort in recent weeks. "We'll continue to force votes every week as this war rages on," Schumer said from the Senate floor.
The mounting conflict is already straining household budgets. Gasoline prices have climbed above $4 a gallon as the war escalates. Economists expect first-quarter economic data released Thursday morning to show a rebound in government spending following a crippling government shutdown, and robust business investment in equipment fueled by artificial intelligence spending and data center construction. But the boost is likely temporary.
"We remain in relatively slow growth mode, nothing exciting," said Brian Bethune, an economics professor at Boston College. "There's nothing really to get a good fire going. There are some warm embers, but there is no fire out there."
Consumer spending was already losing momentum before gas prices spiked. Economists expect the energy shock from the Iran conflict to further squeeze family finances heading into the second quarter, threatening to derail any short-term economic gains.
Author James Rodriguez: "Hegseth's combative tone won't change the underlying math: the Pentagon is burning through cash and weapons faster than planned, gas is eating into consumer wallets, and Democrats have found a potent political weapon on the Senate side."
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