Hegseth defends Iran war strategy at bipartisan budget hearing

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday pushed back against bipartisan congressional criticism of weapons depletion and the rising $29 billion cost of the Iran war, telling House and Senate appropriations panels that American forces have adequate munitions and a range of strategic options in place.

The back-to-back hearings come as the Trump administration seeks a historic $1.5 trillion military budget for 2027 and the conflict grinds toward stalemate, with Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz — through which roughly 20 percent of the world's oil normally flows — driving up fuel prices and threatening Republican fortunes ahead of midterm elections.

Hegseth appeared before the two subcommittees on the same day, disputing concerns about the state of American munitions stocks. "I take issue with the characterization that munitions are depleted in a public forum. That's not true," he said, adding that "we have plenty of what we need." He directed the defense industry to "build more and build faster."

Pentagon comptroller Jay Hurst testified that the conflict has cost $29 billion to date — up from $25 billion cited at hearings held about two weeks earlier — with $24 billion of that sum spent on replacing and repairing munitions, according to The Korea Times.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, offered a sweeping critique of the administration's handling of the conflict. "This administration has not presented Congress with any kind of clear or coherent strategy week to week, day to day, hour to hour," she said. "The rationale shifts, the objectives change. The end game is ill-defined when it is defined at all." In a separate statement on accountability, DeLauro said: "The question must be answered at the end of this crisis: What have we accomplished and at what cost?"

Rep. Ken Calvert, the California Republican who chairs the House defense appropriations subcommittee, shared concerns about long-term readiness, saying "Questions persist about whether we are building the depth and reliance required for a high-end conflict." On troop movement, Hegseth told Rep. Betty McCollum of Minnesota: "We have a plan to escalate if necessary. We have a plan to retrograde if necessary. We have a plan to shift assets."

Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joined Democrats in pressing for a defined strategy in Senate testimony, with Collins having previously voted with Democrats on an effort to halt the conflict. President Trump, meanwhile, dismissed Iran's latest ceasefire proposal, saying "I would call it the weakest right now after reading that piece of garbage they sent us," while maintaining that higher fuel costs from the Hormuz closure are "worth it to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon."

Hegseth attributed gaps in the defense industrial base to previous administrations and U.S. military aid to Ukraine, even as he pressed contractors to ramp up production. With Iran's Strait of Hormuz closure showing no sign of resolution and no defined end game in sight, lawmakers from both parties signaled they will continue demanding answers about a conflict that has already cost American taxpayers $29 billion.