Hegseth loses nerve during congressional hearing

The hearing on April 29 was the first time Hegseth had been forced to testify in front of Congress regarding the Iran War. Hegseth has reportedly been dodging the hearing with the aid of Donald Trump’s influence. The hearing was mostly focused on Trump’s military spending plans, with the Republican congresspeople present expressing their support for Trump’s War on Iran. The Democrats, however, grilled Hegseth on the cost of the Iran War, both in regard to financial cost and the depletion of military resources. Hegseth was also asked about the Iranian elementary school that was bombed on the first day of the conflict, killing 120 children and 26 teachers, all of whom were women. It was quickly discovered that a US Tomahawk missile was responsible for the bombing.

If one thing was clear during the exhaustive six-hour hearing, it’s that Pete Hegseth was woefully unprepared. Hegseth has continually demonstrated his emotionality when pressed, and it was on full display during the hearing. Hegseth lost his cool dozens of times, raising his voice at lawmakers and throwing insults at Democrats seemingly every other sentence. Unfortunately for Hegseth, when emotion takes over, poise leaves.

New Hampshire Rep. Maggie Goodlander was one of the most effective Democratic critics in the room, asking Hegseth multiple questions that he fumbled. After Hegseth had bragged about his ‘crack economic team’ earlier in the hearing, Goodlander tested him, asking whether he knew the average cost of gas on February 28. Hegseth (who clearly did not know the answer) replied snarkily: ‘If you lived in California, it was 8 bucks’ (this is not true; the average price of gas in California was $4.44 at that point). Goodlander ignored Hegseth, stating the national average was $2.83. She then asked him if he knew the average gas price today, to which Hegseth made another crack at California prices. Goodlander smirked and told him the price of gas on April 29 ($4.23).

“Mr. Hegseth, you said you’ve got a crack economic team that’s looking at the impact of this war on the American taxpayer, and you can’t answer this basic question – that should shock the conscience of every American.”

At the end of her time, New Hampshire Rep. Maggie Goodlander asked Hegseth whether he agrees with the statement “the military won’t follow unlawful orders.” Hegseth immediately showed his annoyance with the question, snapping, “I do but understand what you’re insinuating at a partisan point.” Goodlander replied with a smile and revealed that she was actually quoting Hegseth, not a Democrat talking point. Luckily for Hegseth, her time was over after the question. Goodlander took to X to criticize Hegseth after the hearing

The newly named ‘Secretary of War’ was asked to justify the existence of the Iran war by Democratic Rep. Adam Smith, the committee’s ranking Democrat. With his questioning coming later in the hearing, he had assembled a list of Hegseth’s statements over the last few hours to quiz him on. Smith began with the nuclear question.

“We had to start this war, you just said 60 days ago, because the nuclear weapon was an imminent threat. [Today] you’re saying that it was completely obliterated?”

Hegseth responded that apparently Iran has ‘not yet’ given up their nuclear ambitions, and that the country still has thousands of missiles, even after 60 days of war. Smith smiled to himself and responded, “So [this war] left us at exactly the same place we were before.”

Hegseth doubled down on the idea of ‘ambition’. Claiming that all of Iran’s facilities have been destroyed, but their ambition hasn’t. There is no precedent for starting a war to ‘kill a country’s ambition’.

Rep. John Garamendi of California also took Hegseth to task, accusing him of misleading the American public. He called the war a ‘geopolitical calamity, a ‘strategic blunder,’ and a ‘self-inflicted wound to America.’

Hegseth replied in the most dramatic fashion possible, asking Garamendi Who are you cheering for? Your hatred for President Trump blinds you [to the war’s success]”.

Secretary Hegseth was also asked about the revolving door of military officials since his appointment in January. Since Pete Hegseth took over the newly named ‘Ministry of War’, more than a dozen senior military officials have either been fired or forced to retire from their positions. The list includes Randy George: Army Chief of Staff, Jeffrey Kruse: Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, John C. Phelan: Secretary of the Navy, David M. Hodne: Commander, Army Futures/Training Command, William Green Jr: Chief of Chaplains. All of these senior officials were forced out of their roles by Hegseth, resulting in a serious restructuring of military leadership. Hegseth claimed the personnel changes were made to build a ‘warrior culture’ at the Pentagon. Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina defended Hegseth, claiming he should fire ‘anyone who gets in his way’.

While Hegseth’s comments didn’t shed a whole lot of light on the US military’s decision-making, they did confirm two things. Pete Hegseth is emotional and quick to anger, and he will never be able to respond to criticism with poise and respect. This is your Secretary of War, folks.

Link to full congressional hearing