Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faced sharp accusation Thursday that he has misled President Trump about the war in Iran, with Senate Democrats charging he deployed exaggerated claims of triumph to mask a stalled conflict now costing American families at the pump.
Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, opened fire during Hegseth's second day of congressional testimony on the Pentagon's $1.45 trillion budget request. Reed accused Hegseth of failing to provide Trump with an honest assessment of the war's true state and its mounting domestic toll.
"American families are bearing the cost of a war they wanted nothing to do with and have gained nothing from, and yet, Secretary Hegseth, you declared victory a month ago," Reed said.
The war with Iran, now eight weeks in and effectively frozen, has kept the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz sealed by Tehran. Reed painted a picture of a conflict producing real hardship for Americans while offering no tangible gains, even as Hegseth proclaimed success.
Reed's criticism cut deeper than wartime disagreement. He accused the defense secretary of prioritizing personal agendas over the welfare of troops while service members faced injury and death. The senator specifically challenged Hegseth's rhetoric dismissing rules of engagement and vowing to pursue Iranians with "no mercy."
"You have made dangerous statements that are counterproductive to the mission you boasted about," Reed said, noting such language came days after Iranian school girls were killed in a missile strike. He characterized some of Hegseth's stated positions as potentially constituting war crimes.
Reed also took aim at what he saw as distraction from core military duties. He pointed to Hegseth's decision this week to bring rapper Kid Rock to an Army base for an Apache helicopter ride, his firing of multiple senior commanders often based on race or gender, and his push to overhaul the chaplain corps and cancel flu vaccine requirements.
"You are hollowing out our military defensive experience and highest performing senior officers while making young officers wonder if they should continue to serve," Reed said.
Hegseth showed no sign of backing down. He doubled down on language used during Wednesday's House testimony, calling critics of the war "reckless naysayers and defeatist" Democrats and some Republicans. He described the effort as historic and tied to preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
"The biggest adversary we face at this point are the reckless naysayers and defeatist words of congressional Democrats and some Republicans," Hegseth said, dismissing those questioning the strategy as "defeatists from the cheap seats."
Protests erupted during Hegseth's opening statement, with demonstrators shouting "war criminal" and "despicable" before being removed by Capitol security. The disruption underscored the raw emotions surrounding the conflict, which has now stalled into a grinding stalemate after initial military operations.
Reed's core argument centered on a disconnect between Hegseth's public declarations and the actual state of play. Iran's government remained intact, its uranium enrichment program functional, and its nuclear capability intact, Reed said. The senator expressed concern that Hegseth had been telling Trump what he wanted to hear rather than what he needed to know.
"Bold assurances of success are a disservice to both the commander in chief and the troops who risked their lives based on them," Reed said.
Author James Rodriguez: "Hegseth came to Capitol Hill expecting to defend a military budget and left defending his credibility on the basic facts of a war that's supposed to be won."
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