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Apr 29, 2026 - World

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth got in a fiery exchange during a congressional hearing on Wednesday with a lawmaker who accused him of lying about the number of military service members injured since the Iran war started. Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY), a West Point graduate and Iraq war combat veteran, spoke to Hegseth at the House Armed Services Committee hearing about the wounded soldiers and what they described from the attack on March 1 at Port Shuaiba in Kuwait that left six Americans dead and more than 30 wounded. "Before the war started, there was clear intelligence that was high on Iran's target list," Ryan said. "Internal analysis that said the site was indefensible from aerial attack and should not be used. Yet you sent our soldiers from 103rd sustainment command there anyway. Is that true or false? True or false? Straightforward question."Hegseth got defensive with Ryan over the question. "Are you going to give me a chance to answer or just play 'gotcha?'" Hegseth said. Ryan continued and pressed Hegseth to respond to him. "Let's talk about what defenses they had prior to the attack," Ryan said. "Officers on the ground knew our troops were vulnerable. In fact, they requested additional force protection. Did they receive it?"Hegseth said the soldiers did have additional security resources — Ryan said they did not. "In fact, when asked to describe the base's defense, one survivor who's come forward from the unit said, 'I mean, I would put it in the none category from a drone defense capability. None,'" Ryan said. "So let's be clear. No counter-drone capabilities, no counter-rocket systems, no counter-mortar or counter-artillery, not even the basic overhead protection that you and I had 20 years ago in Iraq. And now six of our soldiers are dead," Ryan said. "The next day, you downplayed the attack. You said it was a squirter that squeaked through fortified defenses. But since then, thankfully, brave survivors have come forward to set the record straight. One of our surviving soldiers told CBS, 'painting a picture that one squeaked through is a falsehood.' Another said the unit was, 'unprepared to provide any defense for itself. It was not a fortified position.' Another survivor said the building's protection was about as weak as one gets. Secretary Hegseth, that is obviously in direct contradiction to what you said from the Pentagon podium the next day. So are you saying that these soldiers, our soldiers who survived this horrific attack, are lying?"Hegseth claimed the Pentagon had set a "maximum defensive posture," and Ryan pushed back, interjecting. "Can I speak or are you just going to monologue falsehoods all over the place?" Hegseth said. "It's not a falsehood," Ryan said. The two got into a heated back-and-forth over the questions. "I'm reclaiming my time," Ryan said. "Stop! Stop! I'm reclaiming my time on the behalf of these survivors.""Just because you yelled doesn't make you right," Hegseth quipped. Ryan demanded Hegseth to resign — just as he had said a year ago. "I'm not playing games," Ryan said. "I want to finish. With one more quote from a survivor of the attack and this on the record. Telling the truth is important and we're not going to learn from these mistakes if we pretend these mistakes didn't happen, Secretary Hegseth, those soldiers told the truth. Those soldiers are braver than you are. They are asking for accountability. They deserve accountability. And I'm asking for the same, starting with you."

Apr 29, 2026 - World

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth got defensive when questioned by a Democratic lawmaker about his close adviser Timothy Parlatore.Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO) asked the Pentagon chief about Parlatore's role at the Department of Defense, and he expressed surprise multiple times when Hegseth was unable to answer some of his questions about President Donald Trump's one-time personal attorney. "I'm not privy to every professional position he has held," Hegseth said when asked about his time working on the president's legal team."I will help you out, he did," Crow said. "You appointed him as your senior advisor, correct?"Hegseth told the congressman that Parlatore served in the Navy Reserves but conceded he was an adviser to him, and Crow confronted him with evidence when the defense secretary evaded his question about whether they traveled together."He travels with you, doesn't he?" Crow said. "There is public Instagram that shows this, just say yes."Hegseth also evaded a question about whether Parlatore worked at the Pentagon."He sits in meetings with you and advises you, doesn't he?" Crow said, and Hegseth agreed that he sometimes did. "He maintains a desk and an office in the Pentagon, does he not? You don't know?""I'd have to check," Hegseth said. "It's a big Pentagon."Hegseth agreed that he had commissioned Parlatore as a commander in the Navy Reserve in March 2025 and was proud to do so, but he was less willing to say whether his adviser had gone through a Senate confirmation process."I will tell you what I'm getting to," Crow said. "He didn't maintain a security clearance when you appointed him as a special advisor, is that right? You don't know?"Hegseth said anyone with access to sensitive material would obtain appropriate clearance, but Crow pressed for more details."So when you appointed him as special advisor, he had security clearance?" Crow said. "I'm asking a simple question, did he have —"Hegseth interrupted Crow. "No, you are playing a 'gotcha; game like you do on TV and everywhere else," Hegseth said."Clearly you are concerned about my line of questioning," Crow fired back. "You know where it is going, don't you? I think you do. Does he represent foreign governments? He has a private law practice, does he not? You don't know? Someone who sits in meetings, you don't know? Does he currently represent any senior officers who are under consideration by promotion from you or your office?"Hegseth said only he made those decisions, and Crow again asked whether Parlatore represented any senior officers under consideration for promotion."No, I'm the one who makes decisions," Hegseth said. "He doesn't represent anyone. He's a legal advisor and always has been. He's a legal adviser to me on reserve duty and he always has been, and he does a fantastic job." - YouTube www.youtube.com

Apr 29, 2026 - World

A Democratic lawmaker accused Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of lying to President Donald Trump during a heated congressional hearing on Wednesday. Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO), a former Army Ranger who served three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, raised questions about attorney Tim Parlatore and a potential conflict of interest. He pressed Hegseth during a fiery exchange over whether Parlatore was appointed and asking if Parlatore was removed from a White House investigation in 2025. Hegseth denied the accusations, saying he wasn't aware of it, and claimed he was also not removed from the investigation. "You're not aware of it. That's interesting. Well, is it true that Mr. Parlatore disparaged President Trump?" Crow asked.Hegseth again said that he wasn't aware of the investigation, smiling and appearing to laugh. "Is it true that Mr. Parlatore was accused by President Trump and his lawyers of lying?" Crow asked. Hegseth appeared annoyed by the questions. "What you're accused of is a cute line of questioning that's going nowhere," Hegseth said, referring to Crow's questions as "a stunt."Crow pushed back on Hegseth's comments."Secretary Hegseth, what I'm really concerned about is you purport to have unfaltering loyalty to President Trump, and yet you are continuously going..." Crow said.Hegseth was angry with the comment and interjected Crow's questions. "Oh you care a lot about President Trump, don't you? This is a cute, huge waste of your five minutes," Hegseth said. Crow didn't stand down against the Pentagon chief. "You are repeatedly going behind President Trump's back, appointing people who he has accused of lying, who the White House has accused of lying. And you are not being honest with President Trump," Crow said.

Apr 29, 2026 - World

Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) triggered outrage from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after he called President Donald Trump's war in Iran a "quagmire.""Secretary Hegseth, you have been lying to the American public about this war from day one, and so has the President," Garamendi said during a House Armed Services Committee budget hearing on Wednesday. "You have misled the public about why we are at war. You and the President have offered ever-changing reasons for this war. You've misled the public about the progress of the war.""This war of choice is a political and economic disaster at every level," he continued. "The President has got himself and America stuck in the quagmire of another war in the Middle East. He's desperately trying to extricate himself from his own mistakes."Hegseth responded by calling Garamendi "reckless.""When I said reckless, feckless, and defeatist of congressional Democrats at the beginning, that came after watching you say the same thing on CNN this morning, a quagmire," the Defense secretary gasped. "My generation served in a quagmire in Iraq and Afghanistan, years and years of nebulous missions and utopian nation building that led us to nothing.""Congressman, you should know better. Shame on you calling this a quagmire two months in!" he exclaimed. "You call it a quagmire, handing propaganda to our enemies, shame on you for that statement."Hegseth complained that Garamendi had said he supported the troops while calling the conflict in Iran a quagmire."That's a false equivalation!" he grumbled. "Who are you cheering for here? Who are you pulling for?""And you sit there and go on TV for your clickbait about quagmires!" Hegseth added. "Your hatred for President Trump blinds you to the truth of the success of this mission and the historic stakes that the president is addressing, which the American people support. Iran's been at war with us for 47 years! You want to talk about a forever war?""For two months, this president has stared them down. He's going to get a better deal than anyone ever has and ensure that Iran never has a nuclear weapon. I know the American people support that mission, despite your loose talk and words like quagmire!"

Apr 29, 2026 - World

Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) had to fight for speaking time during a contentious confrontation with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday morning, at one time having to exclaim, “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” to get the Donald Trump appointee to hush.As the ranking Democratic member of the House Armed Services Committee, Smith got the first shot at the former Fox News personality and was barely able to finish his questions before the amped up Hegseth began spouting talking points about the success of the Iran war that has continued to drag on.After Hegseth gave an opening statement touting the success of the war, Smith pounced.“You have to stare down this kind of enemy who is hell-bent on getting a nuclear weapon and get them to a point where they're at the table, giving it up in a way that they haven't have,” Hegseth stated which led Smith to interrupt with, “So they haven't broken yet? Okay, we haven't gotten there yet.”“Well, their nuclear facilities have been obliterated underground,” Hegseth shot back, which drew a puzzled look from the Democratic House member.As Hegseth continued with, “They are buried—”, Smith protested, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whow whoa whoa.”“Reclaiming my time for a second here," Smith lectured. “We had to start this war, you just said 60 days ago, because the nuclear weapon was an imminent threat. Now you're saying that it was completely obliterated?”“They had not given up their nuclear ambitions, and they had a conventional shield of thousands of —,” Hegseth protested as Smith talked over him and bluntly stated, “So Operation Midnight Hammer was a moment of nothing of substance. It left us in exactly the same place we were in before.” - YouTube youtu.be