Sen. John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, sharply challenged Secretary of War Pete Hegseth during a tense hearing on Tuesday.
Kennedy pressed Hegseth to justify the administration’s push to continue the war in Iran, as the White House asks Congress to authorize another $67 billion in emergency funding for the conflict. That request would come on top of an estimated $37 billion already spent.
The exchange grew heated as Kennedy, a loyal ally of President Donald Trump and a longtime supporter of an aggressive foreign policy, questioned what could happen if the United States withdrew from the war.
‘Would [the regime] try to commence development again of a nuclear warhead?’ Kennedy asked.
Hegseth responded, ‘Part of the reason that President Trump had to have the courage to do what he did after Midnight Hammer [Trump’s June 2025 airstrikes on Iran] was that they didn’t give up their ambitions even though their nuclear sites had been obliterated.’
As Hegseth’s answer stretched on, Kennedy cut him off in frustration. ‘Gosh, we need straight answers,’ he said, repeating the line to underscore his irritation.
Hegseth appeared alongside Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine before the Senate Appropriations Committee, where lawmakers were reviewing the White House budget request amid the continuing war in the Middle East.
Their testimony followed a deadly weekend in which three US soldiers were killed, raising the American death toll in the Iran war to 17.
Kennedy looks on during Tuesday’s hearing
Hegseth was testifying on a budget request from the White House as conflict with Iran persists
The Trump administration is facing increasing pressure from Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill as the war launched on February 28 drags on.
Trump renewed strikes against Iran two weeks ago as a ceasefire deal agreed by the two sides collapsed.
Oil prices surged to more than $90 per barrel on Tuesday, with gasoline returning to a nationwide average above $4 per gallon.
Trump’s war is increasing inflationary pressures on the US economy and alarming Republicans as the midterms in November draw near.
Kennedy also grew frustrated with General Caine as he pressed for answers on the feasibility of continuing to wage war.
‘Some of my colleagues, General, want America to just stop in Iran, end the blockade, bring all of our warriors home. What would be the consequence of that in your estimation?’ The Senator asked. Will they put tolls on the Strait?’
Caine replied: ‘I don’t know, Sir. That’s a hypothetical.’
Kennedy hit back: ‘It’s not hypothetical, we’ve got a blockade to stop ’em. General, I want you to look me in the eye, I’m not trying to get you in trouble – I know your advice to the President is private, but this is serious as four heart attacks and a stroke.’
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U.S. Capitol Police remove a protester from the Tuesday hearing
Caine again refused to answer directly, stating that it was a hypothetical question.
Kennedy: ‘I appreciate your discretion but we’re down to it, we need some hard answers and some straight talk.’
Caine later acknowledged under questioning by another senator that there were limits of airpower alone in brining Iran to heel.
‘As you look across the totality of history, airpower’s got limits, and we always have to be mindful of those,’ Caine testified.
‘I think where America’s area of exclusivity is, is when we bring the totality of the diplomatic, informational, economic and pair that with the military. And there’s a lot of that work going on.’
Caine declined to say whether boots on the ground would be a next step.
Hegseth also came under pressure from Democratic senators who questioned the necessity of additional funding and accusing the Department of War of adequately dispending earlier funds.
Senator Patty Murray of Washington, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said in opening remarks that her party had not intention of backing additional money for the Iran war.
‘As a US senator, this administration’s refusal to explain what it is doing, or how this war is protecting Americans; its refusal to seek authorization from Congress, and its expectation that Americans will just pay for it all without any explanation or transparency is disrespectful,’ Murray said.
House Republican leaders are trying to route new Pentagon funding through the reconciliation process to sidestep the Senate filibuster and Democratic opposition.
But the plan is facing resistance from multiple Republican factions in the Senate.
Reconciliation is a special budget procedure that can pass with a simple majority, rather than the 60 votes usually needed to overcome a filibuster.
In his opening testimony, Hegseth had scowled as protesters repeatedly interrupted him.
‘Your hands are bloody,’ one woman said as US Capitol police dragged her from the room.
Hegseth resumed talking, only to be interrupted again a few seconds later.
‘Stop bombing our children in Iran and Palestine – this is illegal,’ a second woman stood and shouted.
Both held signs saying in all caps, ‘NO WAR ON IRAN.’
Hegseth was then interrupted a third time, prompting an angry reaction from Senator Susan Collins, who chaired Tuesday’s hearing.
‘We will have order in the hearing room,’ Collins declared tersely.
