{"id":20027,"date":"2026-07-22T12:11:23","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T12:11:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=20027"},"modified":"2026-07-22T12:11:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T12:11:23","slug":"pete-hegseth-blasts-democrats-at-hearing-over-iran-war-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=20027","title":{"rendered":"Pete Hegseth blasts Democrats at hearing over Iran war leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"


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NEW<\/span>You can now listen to Fox News articles!\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth blasted Democratic senators at a hearing on Tuesday, clashing forcefully with accusations that the United States had demonstrated a failure of leadership in its war with Iran, among other areas.<\/p>\n

Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., raised skepticism with Hegseth, pressing him on whether the administration had a plan to bring the protracted war with Iran to a close.<\/p>\n

Peters accused Hegseth of leaving the country in a worse position than when the war began.<\/p>\n

PETE HEGSETH HEADS TO CAPITOL HILL TO DEFEND TRUMP’S IRAN WAR AS 60-DAY CONGRESSIONAL DEADLINE LOOMS<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, Thursday, April 30, 2026.<\/span> (Cliff Owen\/AP Photo)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

“You \u2014 you don\u2019t have a strategy, you don\u2019t have a long-term plan to actually win this war. Win the war! The men and women are going to be able to do it, but they need leadership. When will you show leadership?”<\/p>\n

Despite promises to end the conflict with Iran in under 60 days and multiple attempts to broker a peace deal, 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\u2019s oil trade.<\/p>\n

The U.S. first began the war in joint strikes with Israel on Feb. 28 that killed Ayatollah Ali Kahmenei.<\/p>\n

Hegseth fired back at Peters, pointing out that Democrats had allowed hesitations about the administration\u2019s border enforcement policies to also extend to funding the government, including servicemembers.<\/p>\n

IRAN WAR’S PRICE TAG HITS $80B \u2014 MORE THAN DOUBLE WHAT CONGRESS WAS TOLD<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Sen. Gary Peters, a Democrat from Michigan and ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, during a hearing in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, June 24, 2026.<\/span> (Valerie Plesch\/Bloomberg via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

“When will you show leadership and stand up to your fellow Democrats who won\u2019t fund the troop, who play partisan politics while you don\u2019t give us the money? You want to stand up here and talk about the troops?” Hegseth said.<\/p>\n

“You won\u2019t show any political courage to actually fund our department because you have Trump derangement syndrome and you won\u2019t commit to anything meaningful. So, I put this on you, senator.”<\/p>\n

As a part of his criticisms, Hegseth said he believes the hesitance Democrats have shown to the U.S. armed forces has stretched from before Trump\u2019s time in office.<\/p>\n

“I mean the Biden administration ignored hypersonics,” Hegseth said, referring to missiles with the capability to travel faster than sound \u2014 a breakthrough China achieved in 2019.<\/p>\n

“They just decided to pretend like that technology didn\u2019t exist and we shouldn\u2019t invest in it. There are things \u2014 I don\u2019t know what Lloyd Austin did for four years. I really don\u2019t. The amount of neglect, the amount of stale thinking and bureaucracy; it was staggering when we took over,” Hegseth said, referring to the Defense Secretary under President Joe Biden.<\/p>\n

TRUMP SAYS IRAN DEAL \u2018LARGELY NEGOTIATED\u2019 AS 84-DAY WAR NEARS POSSIBLE END<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\"Lloyd<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n
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U.S. Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin speaks during a press conference with South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun at The Pentagon on Oct. 30, 2024 in Arlington, Virginia.<\/span> (ent Nishimura \/ Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/strong><\/p>\n

The confrontation at the hearings comes as lawmakers weigh the Department of War’s spending needs for 2027.<\/p>\n

The administration has requested a record-breaking $1.5 trillion budget, a sizable increase over the roughly $900 billion Congress allocated for 2026.<\/p>\n

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Leo Briceno is a politics reporter for the congressional team at Fox News Digital. He was previously a reporter with World Magazine.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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