Hegseth Urges Senate to Put American Troops First

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Tuesday defended America’s need for a $67 billion supplemental funding request, revealing that the conflict in Iran has cost $37.5 billion already. 

“The inability to properly fund this department, the Department of War, is probably the single greatest threat this country faces,” Hegseth said during a hearing with members of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Hegseth appeared before the senators in the afternoon to review President Donald Trump’s supplemental funding request for the Pentagon and for funding American troops. It was the first time Hegseth appeared for questioning since two service members were killed in Jordan last week following the end of the ceasefire. 

Throughout the hearing, senators took time to honor the fallen and to note that it was their first official hearing since Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a member of the committee, died. 

As senators questioned Hegseth on America’s actions, the secretary often responded that the answers to their questions were classified.

Neither party has been briefed on military actions in the Middle East since the ceasefire ended earlier this month.

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When questioning Hegseth, Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., suggested that the administration is having problems getting supplemental funding because it did not ask Congress for authorization before getting into the conflict, which he called the “first strategic mistake.” 

Hegseth pushed back on senators’ hesitation to grant the supplemental funding for American troops, noting that the same Senate granted five supplemental funding bills, totaling hundreds of billions of dollars, for Ukrainian troops.

While the Senate is still debating its supplemental funding bill, the House has an emergency funding plan being discussed this week. 

The House is voting on a $95 billion “narrow” budget resolution that includes more than $70 billion in emergency funding for the military. House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, told the Daily Signal that Hegseth worked closely with his committee to mark the legislation up, suggesting it’s what the military needs. 

“I think he’s actually inspired our conference, and some of our toughest members on spending for the military, that it is absolutely imperative,” Arrington said.