For the first time since President Donald Trump launched the U.S. into war with Iran more than two months ago, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will publicly answer questions from lawmakers on Wednesday.
Democrats see the hearing before the House Armed Services Committee as their best chance so far to hold the administration publicly accountable for what they describe as an “undefined” and “unauthorized” war.
Hegseth will be joined by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine.
Ostensibly, the hearing is about the president’s 2027 defense budget request. But in reality, Democrats on the committee are expected to press Hegseth on everything from the Iran war to the deployment of National Guard troops.
“We get one day with this guy, so we’re going to use it,” Rep. Sarah Elfreth, D-Md., told MS NOW.
Democrats admit they have a lot of potential things they can ask Hegseth about. As Rep. Pat Ryan, D-N.Y., put it, the Pentagon chief has “effed up” so many things it’s “easy to get overwhelmed.”
It’s a sentiment echoed by Rep. Eugene Vindman, D-Va., who said there’s a “tremendous amount of material to sift through.”
Last week, Democrats on the panel got together to discuss strategy for the hearing, lawmakers told MS NOW. And while they didn’t receive specific “assignments” of what to ask about, these lawmakers said, they did agree on several overarching “themes” and topics they plan to emphasize.
“We want to be strategic about this,” Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., said.
The expected themes include: the Iran war, the “politicization” of the deployment of National Guard troops, and concerns about the proposed increase to the Pentagon budget.
On Iran, Democrats said they want to put Hegseth on the record as to how much the conflict is projected to cost taxpayers, what the administration’s goals are, and what the administration’s exit strategy looks like.
“Initially, it was about the nuclear program, which allegedly was obliterated several months ago,” Rep. Wesley Bell, D-Mo., said. “Then it was about regime change. Then it was about destroying an antiquated navy that has never posed much of a threat to our national security.”
“There’s no plan,” Bell said.
On the funding front, the Trump administration’s latest budget request includes a record-shattering $1.5 trillion for the Pentagon — a 42% year-over-year increase.
In a statement shared with MS NOW, the top Democrat on the panel — Rep. Adam Smith of Washington state — indicated that Democrats will question Hegseth on “how we can sustain” that spending increase alongside “our $39 trillion national debt and $3.4 trillion in tax cuts.”
“There’s been no assurance of how Secretary Hegseth is going to manage that windfall amid the chaos that has defined his tenure in the Department of Defense,” Smith wrote.
Overall, Democrats on the panel repeatedly told MS NOW their unifying goal for the hearing is “accountability.”
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Ryan said he wants the “American people to see as much of the mess” at the Pentagon as possible.
Then, Ryan said, “they can push for the president to do what he’s done with other — finally — cabinet members, which is fire them.”
“Hegseth needs to be next,” he said.
Over the past two months since the Iran war began, lawmakers on Capitol Hill — including, at times, Republicans — have expressed frustration about the flow of information from the White House.
While the Trump administration has provided numerous briefings for lawmakers, they have occurred in classified settings — meaning, lawmakers have been restricted in what they’ve been able to share publicly.
And many lawmakers have told MS NOW that those classified briefings have routinely been insufficient, with little new information. Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., at one point described the briefings as “quite useless.”
All of which only ups the ante ahead of Wednesday’s hearing — Hegseth’s first public appearance before Congress since the conflict began.
“I’m a freshman,” Vindman said. “But it’s hard for me to imagine that would have been acceptable in any previous administration.”
Trump — alongside U.S. ally Israel — launched the war on Iran at the end of February. In the months since, 13 U.S. servicemembers have been killed and hundreds have been injured. The price of gas domestically has skyrocketed as Iran cut off the Strait of Hormuz. And while there is a fragile ceasefire in place, it is not clear what a potential offramp to the overall conflict looks like.
Democrats expect Hegseth to be combative and to play things up for the president.
“He’s got an audience of one that he’s trying to please,” Vindman said. “We’ll respond accordingly.”
Kevin Frey is a congressional reporter for MS NOW.