"How do we respond to the deaths of 17 service members?"

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Deadline: White House

Episode: "How do we respond to the deaths of 17 service members?"

Host: Nicolle Wallace
Date: July 22, 2026

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Main Theme / Purpose

This episode provides in-depth analysis and live coverage of a pivotal Congressional hearing following the loss of 17 U.S. service members. With Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Kaine testifying, the discussion centers on accountability for these deaths, the ongoing U.S. conflict with Iran, Pentagon budget and strategy, and the tense political climate in Washington. Nicolle Wallace leads a panel of journalists and lawmakers to examine failures in military preparedness, the narrative in right-wing media, and the administration’s military and political justifications.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Media Coverage and Narrative Control

• Fox News Coverage: Angelo Caracson notes Fox News actively avoided airing Pete Hegseth’s testimony after initial coverage, reflecting hesitance to amplify a narrative that could be damaging to the Trump administration.
  • Quote: "They are ignoring it because they'd much rather do cleanup than coverage." – Angelo Caracson [01:46]
• Controlled Messaging: Fox News is seen as protecting its audience from facts that might contradict its preferred narrative, sidelining even former allies.
  • Quote: "They're not interested in carrying water for Pete Hegseth right now." – Angelo Caracson [03:17]

2. Congressional Grilling: Accountability and Failures

a. Military Base Protection & Response

• Sen. Tammy Baldwin presses Hegseth on why requests for better drone defense and medical support at Port Shuaiba were denied. Hegseth flatly denies any such denials but fails to clarify specifics.
  • Quote: "There were not a single drone or defense request denied at any level that I'm aware of." – Secretary Pete Hegseth [05:20]
• Ongoing investigations into the lack of adequate defenses and medical care are only partially addressed.

b. The Supplemental Funding Bill and Its Consequences

• General Kaine and Secretary Hegseth discuss the potential impacts if the $1.5 trillion supplemental isn’t passed—delays in pay raises, compromised training/readiness, and setbacks in technological advancement.
  • Quote: "Most significantly it'll be in military personnel related matters. ... But that would be a strain." – General Kaine [09:00]
  • Quote: "This $1.5 trillion budget ... sees a 7% pay raise for junior enlisted ... But it's going to put strains on training and readiness." – Secretary Pete Hegseth [10:49]

c. Political and Public Trust Issues

• Sen. Gillibrand criticizes the administration for spending on military ventures and lavish upgrades (like the presidential jet from Qatar), while ignoring domestic needs and transparency.
  • Quote: "Secretary Hexev had no answer... why should New Yorkers support this... when they won't actually lower health care costs or lower food costs or lower housing costs for working people?" – Sen. Gillibrand [15:04]

3. War Aims—and Mixed Messaging

• Lawmakers (Sen. Chris Murphy, Sen. Ossoff) challenge Secretary Hegseth over past official claims that Iran’s military was "destroyed" and "made combat ineffective," noting repeated contradictions and the fact that new attacks continue.
  • Quote: "Day 14 of this conflict, you stated that Iran's military had been, quote, destroyed and, quote, made combat ineffective. Was that an accurate statement?" – Sen. Ossoff [25:42]
  • Hegseth’s evasiveness is repeatedly called out by senators who demand explicit answers regarding war objectives and progress.

4. Emotional and Political Flashpoints

• Shame and Leadership: The exchange between General Kaine and Secretary Hegseth reaches a boiling point, with both accusing each other (and their parties) of failures in leadership and betrayal of servicemembers.
  • Quote: "Shame on you and others who call this a quagmire and a failure...." – Sec. Hegseth [33:23]
  • Quote: "You, sir, are the failure. Not the men and women who are on that front line...." – General Kaine [34:08]
• Tom Nichols offers stinging postscript:
  • Quote: "Shame on Pete Hegseth for trying to dodge a really important question about the failure of this war, a war that the United States has lost as far as I'm concerned, and... is not achieving any of its goals, despite Hegseth's argument that we've achieved them all." – Tom Nichols [35:56]

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Notable Quotes & Moments

Media Avoidance & Narrative

• "They are ignoring it because they'd much rather do cleanup than coverage." – Angelo Caracson [01:46]

Base Protection Failures

• "Soldiers at Port Choiba have also been quoted ... that requests for additional medical and drone defense systems were denied ..." – Host/Anchor [04:42]
• "There were not a single drone or defense request denied at any level that I'm aware of." – Secretary Pete Hegseth [05:20]

War Objectives Contradicted

• "On day 14 of this conflict, in the second week ... you stated that Iran's military had been, quote, destroyed and, quote, made combat ineffective. Was that an accurate statement? Yes or no?" – Sen. Ossoff [26:01]
• "It's been set back not just years, but likely decades." – Secretary Pete Hegseth [27:54]

Accountability and Political Fireworks

• "Shame on you and others who call this a quagmire and a failure...." – Secretary Hegseth [33:23]
• "You, sir, are the failure. Not the men and women who are on that front line." – General Kaine [34:08]
• "Shame on Pete Hegseth for trying to dodge a really important question about the failure of this war..." – Tom Nichols [35:56]

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Important Segment Timestamps

• [01:46] - Angelo Caracson on Fox News' avoidance of the hearing
• [04:42] - Sen. Tammy Baldwin grills Hegseth on denied defense requests and lack of medical care
• [09:00] - General Kaine on the consequences of not passing supplemental funding
• [15:04] - Sen. Gillibrand questions justification for war spending
• [25:42] - Sen. Ossoff presses Hegseth on earlier claims of Iranian defeat
• [33:23–35:00] - General Kaine and Hegseth engage in a heated exchange on leadership and war failure
• [35:56] - Tom Nichols' critical reaction to Hegseth's testimony

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Tone and Language

• Direct, urgent, adversarial: Lawmakers, especially from the Democratic side, call out evasiveness, demand accountability, and draw links between failed military promises and real loss.
• Defensive, at times combative: Secretary Hegseth repeatedly ties criticism of leadership to attacks on troops and pivots to partisan accusations.
• Somber and emotional: Multiple guests emphasize the gravity of the loss of young service members, and the burden on families and the nation.

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Summary Flow and Usefulness

This episode offers a raw, unfiltered window into wartime oversight—a high-stakes, emotionally charged Congressional hearing where lawmakers demand plain answers for the deaths of U.S. service members. The adversarial tenor, from both political and military leaders, exposes the depth of strategic, operational, and political divides as America grapples with a protracted, unpopular conflict. The episode is a must-listen for those seeking to understand not only what happened, but also how public narrative, political calculation, and accountability collide at crucial moments of national loss.

Transcript

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[Angelo Caracson]

Thank you

[Host/Anchor]

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[News Anchor/Moderator]

We are back. We are covering this hearing up on Capitol Hill. It is Pete Hegse's first trip to Capitol Hill since news of the loss of three service members over the weekend. There have been exasperated lines of questioning from Democrats and Republicans, notably, I want to bring in Angelo Caracson who's watching along with us as well. Angelo, at least since 4pm Fox News has not broadcast any of their former colleague Pete Hegseth as he testifies before Capitol Hill as he seems to rhetorically bang the table and demand from Senator Jack Reid that Donald Trump quote, deserves our praise. Your thoughts about their sort of wishing this away?

[Angelo Caracson]

Well, I mean, yeah, and they have good cause to do that, right? Because they're one of the main reasons that we're in this mess to begin with. I mean, they were the ones just ginning it up. But we're telling Trump it was going to be easy. And I think that's the important part because he was so high off of the Venezuela action that he felt like he was invincible and that all the stories he was telling him they could accomplish. And I think with respect to Pete, hesitant, I think that's a little bit of a tell. Right. Because Fox is very careful. A lot has changed since Roger Ellis no longer runs a place and Fox has sort of atomized in a lot of ways. But one thing that they're still very careful is who's the best messenger for the for what they feel is the core part of the narrative for the right wing media. And they don't think Hegseth is at messenger right now. They just don't think he's performing well, if they did, trust me, they would have him up there. They are ignoring it because they'd much rather do cleanup than coverage. And I think that, to me, is the real reveal.

[News Anchor/Moderator]

Yeah. So, Angela, they were in it at the very beginning at 4, and then they quickly turned away. We make all sorts of coverage decisions and it's their right to cover whatever they want. But notable, particularly with everything that's sort of in the DNA at Fox News, that on the heels of these deaths, they didn't have any sort of heads up that Ptechseth would honor the 17 men and women who had lost their lives. That seems to deviate even from what they do on sort of the worst version of themselves.

[Angelo Caracson]

Yeah, I mean, look, they're gonna, especially on this topic, they have a very controlled narrative for their audience.

[Reporter/Journalist (Nick Confessori)]

They.

[Angelo Caracson]

And they definitely don't want anything that's going to sort of contradict that or undermine that or let the sort of the truth get through. I think that, to me, is another significant part of all this. And as you know, there's a little bit of concern around how the coverage of the respecting the troops is going to be. I think I would note that they didn't discuss it over the weekend. They didn't discuss the attacks. They barely have sort of talked about those negative consequences of it because that's not going to align with their story. And they're not interested in carrying water for Pete Hegseth right now.

[General Kaine]

They are.

[Angelo Caracson]

They're willing to do lots of coverage of Trump when Trump is in control, and they can sort of reinforce the sort of Paul Bunyan narrative that they have about him. But Hexit right now is a little bit on the outs. And that, I think, is pretty clear from their coverage. And I've watched a lot of Fox hearing coverage of Fox hearings in similar circumstances. If they thought it was going to be something their base wants to hear, they would cover it. They thought it was going to be good for their story, they would cover it. I think to me, the other part to consider here is it's a reflection of something you've been talking about already, which is that this is wildly unpopular and nobody wants this, including largely the Fox audience. And you hear that in the callers to talk radio. You hear that, you know, sort of trickling through every once in a while. And they're not going to aggravate their audience by having some of these truths and facts hit them in a way where they can at least sand off some of the edges.

[News Anchor/Moderator]

All right, let's listen in this is Senator Tammy Baldwin for Chueba and I

[Host/Anchor]

will quote from the Washington post article of July 12th. This is a quote. Shuaiba did not have any of the systems that would take down the one way attack shahed drones and initial security assessments found that the base was not adequately protected. End quote. Soldiers at Port Choiba have also been quoted in news reports saying that requests for additional medical and drone defense systems were denied prior to the conflict with Iran beginning. Why were those requests denied? Secretary Hegseth?

[Secretary Pete Hegseth]

I would confer with Admiral Cooper, but there were not a single drone or defense request denied at any level that I'm aware of. We did everything we could to move

[Host/Anchor]

heaven and earth in every single location to protect every Single American. From July 12th. Washington Post also quoted a soldier saying that the unit's request for an Eagles drone defense system was denied because of lack of assets. That's an end quote. US Army Central has conducted an investigation into that attack. Do you commit to releasing the findings of that investigation publicly? Yes or no?

[Secretary Pete Hegseth]

We'll get you the status of that. I would argue if it was a resource constraint. That's precisely why we're having this hearing today to speed up systems to the battlefield, to war fighters as fast as humanly possible. It's been too slow in the past. It needs to be faster.

[Host/Anchor]

The reforms we're undertaking of that investigation publicly, yes or no?

[Secretary Pete Hegseth]

I will work with Admiral Cooper to make sure it's handled properly. Yes, Senator.

[Host/Anchor]

Thank you, Secretary Hegseth. I traveled to Walter Reed Military Hospital and met with soldiers who were injured in that attack. What they told me confirmed what other soldiers have said publicly. That most of these soldiers injured in the attack did not receive proper medical care in Kuwait, in Germany or during their initial days back in the U.S. the U.S. military has been fighting wars in the Middle east for 25 years. Why was proper medical care not immediately available to these injured soldiers? And why were they not immediately screened for traumatic brain injuries?

[News Anchor/Moderator]

That's.

[Secretary Pete Hegseth]

I. I'm not taking issue with the characterization of individual soldiers. But I would argue that every effort was made to provide every level of medical care possible. Understanding how CENTCOM operates.

[Committee Chair]

The Senator's time has expired and there is a vote on Senator Cap. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you all for being here. Thank you for service. I want to begin because the last time that I saw you, Sec. Secretary Hed, Seth and General Kaine, was at the Pentagon when you honored Andrew Wolf who was attacked here in D.C. in November. And then the honor that you have given to Sarah Beckstrom and her family who lost her life that day as well. I think that I know that you've been in constant contact with Andrew and his family and you also know that the great faith that they have and the Lord above is what's really brought them to the point where they are now. So let's keep them all in his prayer. I am interested in Senator Baldwin's question because I do have a soldier from West Virginia who is making a very similar complaint. So whatever follow up we can do, I would like to do that. I'd also like to recognize the three most recent service members that we lost because we talk about them as service members and soldiers, but I haven't heard them say their name and they're so young. First Lieutenant Tyler James Freehand, Private Isabella Gonzalez and Sergeant Michael Swinton. You will be I guess greeting their families and unfortunately their caskets as they come forward tomorrow. So my question is we've heard a lot about why we shouldn't be voting for this supplemental or questions as to is that really necessary or why. I guess my question, General Kaine, is what's the consequence of not passing this supplemental? Where do you see that hitting us most deeply?

[General Kaine]

Yes, ma'.

[Angelo Caracson]

Am.

[General Kaine]

It will manifest itself in a few different places. Most significantly it'll be in military personnel related matters. We'll figure out how to pay soldiers and sailors, but that would be a strain operations and maintenance costs and then the ability for the department to take some of this capital and wisely invest it in future combat capability and things like AI uas, counter uas, hypersonics in space.

[Committee Chair]

So not only would it hit us today, but it could hit us tomorrow as well.

[General Kaine]

Yes, ma'.

[Host/Anchor]

Am.

[General Kaine]

I actually view this as forward looking. As we look at the future picture and the various risks that we're facing. The supplemental and the budget frankly help to ensure that we are properly arming the joint force for the myriad of potential contingencies that we face in the future.

[Committee Chair]

Thank you. So as we look at one of the I think best successes under your all's leadership at the Department of War has been the fulfillment of the recruitment in every branch. I remember last year, I think or maybe the year before, only the Marines could brag that they had made their records. And now I think that many the other branches you're far exceeding what has previously done. So that tells me that American young men and women want to serve their country. They want to be safe, they want to do the right thing. So how does not funding them and if they think that their Salaries may be short or we're going to have a continuing resolution or we're going to shut down the government. How can this chill? What has been one of the greatest successes, I think, in terms of not just today's force, but the force of the future. And Mr. Secretary, I'll ask you to answer that question.

[Secretary Pete Hegseth]

Well, in a brass tax sense, this $1.5 trillion budget in its totality sees a 7% pay raise for junior enlisted, 6% for your NCOs and junior officers, and 5% for senior officers. So it's significant reflection of the value we place on top of the other increases that Congress has provided them if we were to have to. And we're going to do right by the troops. We're going to make sure they get paid. But it's going to put strains on training and readiness and all the other aspects of O and M over time, which makes its way down to the unit. You know, when you're saying we're focused on training and readiness and lethality, but we have to cut back on training because Congress can't get the money we need to the department that's discouraging at every single level. And when young men and women join this War Department, we want them moving immediately into the training pipeline at the highest possible level with the best possible equipment. And they've seen that thus far. And that's led to historic recruiting momentum. We need to keep that momentum going.

[Committee Chair]

Yeah. And I would say that it could have the reverse effect if this is troubled waters here and lack of confidence which we see on the other side of the aisle there, and questions that I think wouldn't be asked if it were not of a political nature. We're going to chill our recruiting efforts here for our young people as they look forward to serving their country and becoming that patriot they want to be.

[Secretary Pete Hegseth]

You're right. Or return to the valley under the Biden administration, where not only do they not.

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[Reporter/Journalist (Nick Confessori)]

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[Secretary Pete Hegseth]

They go where news breaks, get answers

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[Secretary Pete Hegseth]

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[News Anchor/Moderator]

joining our coverage, Democratic Senator of New York Kristen Gillibrand. She's a member of the Appropriations Committee. She just took part in the questioning of Pete Hegseth moments ago. Senator, we we watched you live your impressions of the responses, or lack thereof, that you received.

[Senator Kristen Gillibrand]

So it seemed to me that Secretary Hexev had no answer to the question of why should New Yorkers support this admin investment of $1.5 trillion on bombs when they won't actually lower health care costs or lower food costs or lower housing costs for working people? New Yorkers are furious about this war. It's still unauthorized, it's unpopular and as we went through the administration just hasn't been honest about it.

[News Anchor/Moderator]

Senator, we waited for your testimony. We now have Senator Chris Murphy testifying. Are you able to listen along with us and react on the other side?

[Senator Kristen Gillibrand]

Yes, I can wait for his

[Reporter/Journalist (Nick Confessori)]

capabilities or repairing after damage we have done. There's an open report that when it comes to their missile sites along the strait of Hormuz, 30 of 33 are still operational.

[Secretary Pete Hegseth]

I wouldn't believe all the open reports,

[Reporter/Journalist (Nick Confessori)]

Senator, but I've also heard you say in this hearing that the objectives now seem to be more limited than they were at the outset of the war, that this is about reopening the strait and this is about dismantling their nuclear capability. And the President, of course, has said himself that he thinks Iran has a right to a missile program. So my question is pretty simple. Is it correct that it is no longer a war objective to destroy all of their military capacities? This is what the president has said. Have our goals been simplified to reopening the strait and to getting into a negotiation over a nuclear program. Now, I don't think you have a realistic plan to do either of those things, but I think it's important for us to know what we're funding. Are the objectives much more limited today than they were when you made that statement in March?

[Secretary Pete Hegseth]

So I think the objectives have been consistent and clear from the beginning. And I would contrast it to North Korea where a conventional buildup was used to hide a nuclear capability that eventually evolved to a point where it couldn't be contested. And what Iran continued to do even after Midnight Hammer was try to build that conventional capability to dare anyone to stop them from pursuing nuclear weapons. So getting after their conventional capabilities, missile launchers, defense industrial base, their navy was all part of it, ensuring they can't blackmail us into pursuing a nuclear capability. Laser focused on Iran will never have a nuclear capability. That's the promise the president has made and that he will keep.

[Reporter/Journalist (Nick Confessori)]

Everyone I think it supports it is still a war objective either through military action or through a diplomatic agreement to destroy and disable all of Iran's meaningful military capacities, including their missile program.

[Secretary Pete Hegseth]

As far as all when we talked about that from the podium for at the outset of this we're talking about their defense industrial base. And if you look at the metrics of their ability to make more that it's been overwhelmingly destroyed. Not everything, but overwhelmingly now, do they have missiles in underground bunkers because they're a terror state? Sure they do and we've acknowledged that from the beginning. But their capacity is less today than it's ever been.

[Reporter/Journalist (Nick Confessori)]

They obviously, they obviously have significant capacity to effectively disrupt the entirety of the Middle east and oil flows out of the Middle east and that's not going to change. Let me ask you one more question. This is a request for supplemental funding because you don't have the funding in your base budget to do what you need to do, which makes questions about the base budget relevant. There's been a lot of attention, Mr. Secretary, on the modernization of a luxury jet that was gifted to the President by the government of Qatar. Reports suggest that maybe as much as $1 billion in your base funding, an extraordinary amount of money has been used for an upgrade and the plane is back in the shop for a second upgrade. As far as I can tell, never before has an administration not made public the amount of money for an upgrade or a construction contract on a presidential airplane. Obviously, we don't need or want disclose the details of that upgrade. But never before have you withheld from Congress and the public the total amount of money. I think there are two really important questions here. One, will you make public the amount of money that you are spending to upgrade this plane? And two, can you commit to this Congress and this committee that the President isn't going to take this plane with him when he leaves office? More insulting to the taxpayers of spending money on a jet they don't need would be for the President to take it with him to take it out of our military inventory when he leaves office.

[Secretary Pete Hegseth]

Say the Air Force has done an incredible job making that a capable jet that ultimately. But its capabilities and investment are classified and shouldn't be talked about publicly.

[Reporter/Journalist (Nick Confessori)]

That's not what I'm asking. Considering you make money, will you disclose the amount of money publicly?

[Secretary Pete Hegseth]

I would imagine as part of the regular budget process. That's something that we would look at.

[Reporter/Journalist (Nick Confessori)]

And will you commit that the President will not take this jet?

[Secretary Pete Hegseth]

Well, you have to look at the classification level of certain things that are not devolved for reasons of national security.

[Reporter/Journalist (Nick Confessori)]

Will you commit that the President will not take this jet with him out of federal inventory when he leaves office?

[Secretary Pete Hegseth]

That's not a decision for necessarily me to make. And ultimately we're grateful to have it in the fleet for the Air Force to protect the President, United States.

[Reporter/Journalist (Nick Confessori)]

That's deeply satisfactory answer to the American public.

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[News Anchor/Moderator]

Senator Gillibrand, both you and your colleague Senator Chris Murphy, very quickly and adeptly able to get Pete Hegseth to squirm your thoughts on his evasiveness and what seemed to be the real limits in what he was able to say before the very, very important Appropriations Committee.

[Senator Kristen Gillibrand]

Well, again, he doesn't care about the grift of the Trump administration. He doesn't care that this plane from Qatar has cost the taxpayer so much money to upgrade and he was unwilling to make any commitments about returning the plane to the fleet. So Hegseth has been unable to defend this administration, the fact that they are not honest about the purpose of this war and the fact that they don't have a plan to exit it.

[News Anchor/Moderator]

What is your sense about the limitations that General Kaine seemed to feel today

[Senator Kristen Gillibrand]

the limitations that that secretary or that General Kaine had. Yet at the end of the day, General Kaine, as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is someone who looks at these questions only in a military context. He wasn't able to answer any of the political questions. And in fact, our men and women in military, military service, they will actually complete every mission you give them and they will do it boldly and bravely. And that is what his focus is. He cannot answer the political questions that Pete Heigseth has put front and center to this committee.

[News Anchor/Moderator]

And you and your colleagues have pointedly put them where they belong. To Secretary Hegseth, we are so grateful to you for taking the time to talk to us today and for being flexible and watching along with us. Thank you so much, Senator.

[Senator Kristen Gillibrand]

Thank you.

[News Anchor/Moderator]

Bye bye. We are going to show you Senator Ossoff's questioning from the beginning. He has started. We're going to roll the tape back to the beginning and watch it in its entirety here, that is.

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you all for your testimony. And General Kaine, let me just begin by expressing on behalf of all Georgians our immense gratitude and admiration for the service members who are making tremendous sacrifices and conducting themselves with extraordinary self and professionalism on behalf of the United States and our state's unified condolences and grief for the families of the four killed in action and our hope for a swift recovery for the nearly 100 wounded over the last two weeks. And thank you to you for your service to the nation. Mr. Hegseth, you're requesting roughly $68 billion for the department through this supplemental, correct?

[Secretary Pete Hegseth]

67, yes.

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

And yesterday your department stated publicly, quote, U.S. forces struck Iranian military command centers, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites and air defense systems to degrade Iran's ability to continue attacking commercial vessels. That was a press release from your department. Is that a broadly accurate characterization of ongoing operations?

[Secretary Pete Hegseth]

That sounds broadly accurate, yes.

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

On day 14 of this conflict, Mr. Secretary, day 14, nearly five months ago, you stated that Iran's military had been, quote, destroyed and, quote, made combat ineffective. That was on day 14 of the war. Was that an accurate statement?

[Secretary Pete Hegseth]

They didn't have a navy any longer. It was completely sunk. Their missiles were buried underneath a lot of their underground facilities and their defense industrial base has been almost completely destroyed. So as far as a military assessment of Iran's capabilities, it doesn't didn't mean by any stretch of the imagination, absolute zero. But there, Mr. Secretary, lowest level, you stated very long.

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

On day 14 of this conflict, in the second week of the conflict, you stated that Iran's military had been, quote, destroyed and, quote, made combat ineffective. Was that an accurate statement? Yes or no?

[Secretary Pete Hegseth]

Iran's ability to challenge the United States of America at the level at which we're capable of.

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

That's not what I asked you, Mr. Secretary. You said on day 14, Iran's military had been, quote, destroyed and, quote, made combat ineffective. Yes or no, was that an accurate statement?

[Secretary Pete Hegseth]

What the American military has, the Iranian military is a historic military. Will you answer the question in that context?

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

Three weeks later, you declared victory. That was now nearly four months ago. Three weeks after you'd already said Iran's military was destroyed and combat ineffective. You said, quote, Operation Epic Fury was a historic and overwhelming victory. You said Iran's military had been rendered, quote, combat ineffective for years to come. And you stated we had, quote, achieved every single objective. Were those accurate statements?

[Secretary Pete Hegseth]

It certainly was. On behalf of the men and women in uniform, a historic military victory over Iran.

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

Had Iran's military been rendered, quote, combat ineffective for years to come? That was that you made four months ago.

[Secretary Pete Hegseth]

They had 160 naval vessels, Air Force. You said four months, combat ineffective, and they don't have a defense industrial base.

[Reporter/Journalist (Nick Confessori)]

Excuse me.

[Secretary Pete Hegseth]

Describe to me a country that doesn't have an air force, a navy, or a defense industrial base, and I would describe to you a company, that country that does not have an effective.

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

Secretary.

[Secretary Pete Hegseth]

It can lob missiles.

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

Mr. Secretary, you stated four months ago that Iran's military had been rendered, quote, combat ineffective for years to come. Has Iran's military been, for the last four months, combat ineffective?

[Secretary Pete Hegseth]

It's been set back not just years, but likely decades. You stated we had the level before. It doesn't mean it doesn't have capabilities.

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

Mr. Secretary, you stated we had, quote, achieved every single objective. Was that an accurate statement? Four months ago, the main objective of

[Secretary Pete Hegseth]

this was to ensure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon. Their main sites were obliterated. We're watching over them and we're holding that issue. If they don't give them up at the table, there's other ways we can take.

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

Early in the.

[Secretary Pete Hegseth]

Iran will never have a nuclear weapon.

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

Secretary, early in the conflict, day three, you said one of those core objectives was to, quote, destroy the missile threat, and as you restated on day five, to, quote, obliterate Iran's missiles and drones. Those were clearly and repeatedly stated core objectives of the campaign, which four months ago, you declared had been completed victoriously with every single objective achieved. Were those objectives achieved? Four months ago, no one ever stated

[Secretary Pete Hegseth]

that every single missile was gone. Ultimately, combat ineffective means they're not able to dig them out of their UGFs and shoot them. It doesn't mean they don't have underground facilities where they put missiles in them and hold on to them because they're the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism. So we never expected they would stop having capabilities to shoot. The question is at scale against opponent like the United States of America which went toe to toe with them in

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

Iran couldn't you stated on March 8th, day nine of the war on 60 minutes you assured the American people of Iranian surrender. Does that remain your prediction?

[Secretary Pete Hegseth]

Ultimately, Iran will never have a nuclear weapon to threaten the United States of America. That has been the objective and it remains so.

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

So just to review, you will not answer whether your statement made on the 14th day of the war that Iran's military had been quote, destroyed and made combat ineffective was a truthful statement to the American people as you sit here and ask for tens of billions more for the Senator's time has had a

[Secretary Pete Hegseth]

historic and effective military campaign against the largest state sponsor of terrorism.

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

Don't answer the question.

[Committee Chair]

Peter Weapon Senator is recognized.

[General Kaine]

Thank you Chair and thank you to our witnesses here today. I want to begin by first echoing my colleagues comments that we've heard throughout the hearing here and join them in mourning the loss of American service members who were killed in action these last few days. My thoughts are with their families, with service member who remains missing and with all those injured during the strikes. And I will continue to pray for their families. Secretary Hegsef, over the course of the war with Iran, I have repeatedly expressed concerns regarding the administration's lack of winning strategy and repeated contradictions about the state of the war. It frankly doesn't help that you and your President continues to mislead the American people. You and the President have repeatedly said that the war as we've heard over and over again, is almost over or already won. In fact, the President alone has said the war is almost over more than 30 times. On March 1st the President said we'll be done in four or five weeks. On March 9th he said the war was very complete. On April 8th he declared total and complete victory, 100%. No question about it. On the same day you declared Operation Epic Fury was a historic and overwhelming victory on the battlefield. A capital V military victory by any measure. And yet today, July 21, we have soldiers whose remains are sadly going to be returned to their deeply grieving Families tomorrow. Clearly, the war is not over yet. After months of conflict, our strategy to win remains unclear. I have long said the United States has the strongest military in history in the world. And I have no doubt that our brave service members can execute any mission and prevail in any battle. But without a clear winning strategy, we're at risk of being in another forever war that will put our service members in continued harm's way and continue to cost taxpayers billions of dollars. Secretary Hegsev, despite your failure to win this war, you are back now before Congress asking for almost $70 billion in additional funding. You're asking the American people for a blank check because once again, the Trump administration's efforts have been an utter and complete failure to win this war to this point. So my question for you, sir, is how is your strategy different than what we've seen in the past? So far, we have not seen a strategy that's been successful. You mentioned nuclear material is the primary goal of the war. It still exists. We haven't dealt with that issue yet. You talk about the destruction of missiles, and yet the missiles that we saw hit recent targets are actually somehow more lethal, more deadly, more maneuverable than what we have seen in the past. So they're obviously improving their munitions. The Strait of Hormuz is still closed, reminding everybody it was open before the war. Prices were lower for everybody until the war, and it still remains closed. And of course, tragically, people, service members, our war fighters, who we care deeply about, are still dying. So what's different, Mr. Hegseff?

[Secretary Pete Hegseth]

Secretary Hegseff, I think your characterization of this incredible effort as a failure is reckless, and I think it's irresponsible, and I think it smears the sacrifice of the troops that are out there making on behalf of the American people to ensure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon. Shame on you and others who call this a quagmire and a failure. And then you want to turn around and say you support the war fighter. Either you do or you don't.

[General Kaine]

Is the nuclear material still there?

[Secretary Pete Hegseth]

I can get you a ticket out to CENTCOM and talk to what those Americans are doing and how committed they are to this effort and how they want to ensure that Iran never threatens their families. And with a nuclear weapon, it is that. That's the kind of intensity that our war fighters have about making sure that Iran isn't capable of doing that.

[General Kaine]

Secretary Hegsev, did you. If you listened to my comments, you told you would have heard me say how amazing our war fighters Are.

[Reporter/Journalist (Nick Confessori)]

I heard.

[Secretary Pete Hegseth]

Failure. The word heard. I heard Exactly.

[General Kaine]

I will tell you how I use the word failure because I use the word failure to their leaders. You, sir, are the failure. Not the men and women who are on that front line. Not the men and women who hold up their honor with distinction. But if there's a lack of a winning strategy, they're in harm's way. Their leaders have failed them, and that's what's happening. We have political leadership. You, you don't have a strategy. You don't have a long term plan to actually win this war.

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

Win the war.

[General Kaine]

The men and women are going to

[Secretary Pete Hegseth]

be able to do it, but they

[General Kaine]

need to have leadership.

[Secretary Pete Hegseth]

When will you show leadership?

[General Kaine]

When will you show leadership?

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

Leaders?

[Secretary Pete Hegseth]

Why don't you show some leadership and stand up to your fellow Democrats who won't fund the troops, who stand and play partisan politics while you don't give us the money. You want to stand up here and talk about the troops? You won't show any political courage to actually fund our department because you have Trump derangement syndrome and can't actually commit to anything meaningful. So I put this on you, Senator.

[General Kaine]

Secretary Hegsov, you have trillions. You have over a trillion dollars. You're asking for one and a half trillion dollars. It's not a question of money. It's a question of leadership and understanding what it takes to actually win.

[Secretary Pete Hegseth]

Political cowardice of Democrats who won't fund the troops.

[News Anchor/Moderator]

Senator's time has expired.

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

This will conclude our hearing.

[Host/Anchor]

I want to thank our witnesses.

[News Anchor/Moderator]

Well, Senator John Osseff got Pete Hegseth rattled. Rattled. Pete Hegseth unloaded on Democratic Senator Peter's there at the end. For a country at war to watch is its political leader, the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth lose his. You know what has to be disorienting and unsettling. Tom Nichols.

[Tom Nichols]

It was shameful. And when Pete Hegseth says to Gary Peters, shame on you. Shame on Pete Hegseth for trying to dodge a really important question about the failure of this war, a war that the United States has lost as far as I'm concerned, and is in, is not achieving any of its goals, despite Hegseth's argument that we've achieved them all. Shame on Hegseth for trying to push the troops forward. And to say that criticizing me is the same thing as criticizing the troops. That was a cowardly move. That was exactly the kind of thing that you'd expect from somebody who spent a lot of his time on a television network trying to score debating points. But Peters was absolutely right. And Ossoff, Senator Ossoff, I think, rattled him because basically the question was, were you lying then or are you lying now? Which I think is the question that comes up whenever you compare how this war began and where it is now. So if that was leadership, then it still amazes me that Pete Hegseth has a job.

[News Anchor/Moderator]

I appreciate all of you so much for watching along with us. Paul Rykoff, David Rhode, Tom Nichols, Angelo Caracson the best of the thank you so much and I want to thank all of you for bearing with us. We thought this was important today and we appreciate you for watching with us. We are grateful.

[Secretary Pete Hegseth]

And now Comfort A poem A warm bath with candles dimly lit, Lost in

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

a serene and relief from my chronic dry eye.

[Secretary Pete Hegseth]

A smooth glass of lemonade and relief

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

from my chronic dry eye.

[Secretary Pete Hegseth]

Brenda Listen, buddy, you're just not giving comfort here.

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

But, for example, the CEQA solution starts to repair the damage to your eyes in as little as two weeks. It's comfortable from the first drop. Cequa is a prescription topical solution for dry eye disease that helps to increase the production of natural tears in your eye. The most common side effects include eye pain and redness. Don't touch vial tip. Do anything. Use as directed, then discard. Wait 15 minutes before reinserting contacts. Don't use if you're allergic to sequoia.

[Secretary Pete Hegseth]

It helps your eyes produce more of their own natural tears.

[Reporter/Journalist (Nick Confessori)]

Oh, you're right.

[Secretary Pete Hegseth]

That's comfort.

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

Sequa Visit sequa. Com that's C E Q U a dot com and seek the AH for yourself.