Pentagon chief to testify in Congress for the first time regarding the war with Iran
Kyiv • UNN
Pete Hegseth will testify in Congress for the first time about the war with Iran and the $1.5 trillion budget. He is accused of waging war without the consent of lawmakers.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will face tough questions from American lawmakers on Wednesday regarding the war with Iran during his first congressional testimony since the conflict began, UNN reports, citing AFP.
Details
Hegseth's appearance before the House Armed Services Committee — at a hearing regarding U.S. President Donald Trump's $1.5 trillion defense budget request — is scheduled amid an unresolved war and global economic consequences.
Lawmakers from both parties have previously expressed dissatisfaction with information provided in classified briefings on the war, setting the stage for a potentially tense public hearing where high-ranking U.S. military General Dan Cain is also expected to testify, the publication writes.
"Finally, Secretary Hegseth will appear before the House Armed Services Committee this week. It is time to answer for this war of choice," Democratic committee member Maggie Goodlander wrote in a post on X.
Trump and his administration have yet to publicly present a plan to end the war, which has led to Iran closing the vital Strait of Hormuz, causing a sharp spike in oil prices.
Washington responded with a blockade of Iranian ports and has now deployed three aircraft carriers to the Middle East for the first time in more than 20 years.
Trump extended the initial two-week truce indefinitely, but negotiations have so far failed to produce a breakthrough.
Earlier this month, House Democrats introduced six articles of impeachment against Hegseth, accusing him of "high crimes and misdemeanors," including waging war against Iran without congressional approval.
More than a dozen Democrats also sent a letter to Hegseth last week demanding a "formal, immediate investigation" into the deaths of six U.S. service members in Kuwait on March 1, stating that the Pentagon chief failed to protect American forces and subsequently "misled the public regarding the circumstances of the attack."
In total, 13 American service members have died in the conflict — six in the Iranian attack in Kuwait, one in another attack in Saudi Arabia, and six in a plane crash in Iraq — while 400 have been wounded.
In addition to the war with Iran, Hegseth may face questions about repeated reshuffles in the Pentagon's top leadership since Trump returned to power last year.
Last week, the Pentagon announced that Secretary of the Navy John Phelan was leaving his post "immediately," following the resignation of high-ranking U.S. Army officer General Randy George in early April.
Lawmakers may also raise questions about Hegseth's conflict with the AI development company Anthropic, which refused to allow its AI models to be used for mass civilian surveillance or in fully autonomous lethal military operations.