Hegseth faces more grilling from Congress as Iran-Israel conflict escalates

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appears before the Senate Armed Services Committee for a final round of contentious hearings marked by scrutiny over his controversial decisions

Washington: Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth is returning to Capitol Hill on Wednesday for the last in a series of often combative hearings before lawmakers, who have pressed him on everything from a ban on transgender troops to his use of a Signal chat to share sensitive military plans.

The questions — which also have touched on his firings of top military leaders and even some of his inner circle of advisers — may be dominated by the escalation of airstrikes between Iran and Israel that threaten a potentially devastating regional war. But he is still expected to face sharp questions about his chaotic tenure, his opposition to women in combat jobs and efforts to shift funding from troop housing to border security.

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The US has shifted significant numbers of refuelling tanker and fighter aircraft to position them to be able to respond if needed to the conflict, such as possible evacuations or airstrikes. Hegseth said this week that was done to protect US personnel and airbases.

“We are postured defensively in the region to be strong in pursuit of a peace deal. And we certainly hope that’s what happens here,” he told Fox News Channel. “And America first means we’re going to defend American personnel and American interests.”

Hegseth’s testimony last week in three congressional hearings also was taken over by events, with the Trump administration dispatching the National Guard and 700 active-duty Marines to the protests in Los Angeles against California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s wishes. It came just ahead of a massive military parade to celebrate the Army’s 250th birthday, which coincided with President Donald Trump’s birthday.

In the previous hearings — where Hegseth was appearing to discuss the Pentagon’s spending plan — lawmakers made it clear they are unhappy that Hegseth has not provided full details on the administration’s first proposed defense budget.

Trump has said it would total $1 trillion, a significant increase over the current spending level of more than $800 billion.

Hegseth, who is appearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Wednesday, has spent vast amounts of time during his first months in office promoting the social changes he’s making at the Pentagon.

He’s been far less visible in the administration’s more critical international security crises and negotiations involving Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Gaza and Iran.

For example, Hegseth directed the renaming of a Navy ship that had honoured Harvey Milk, a slain gay rights activist who served as a sailor during the Korean War. He also has touted other moves to eradicate diversity, equity and inclusion programmes and said a ban on transgender troops in the military was a way to regain the “warrior ethos.”

It will be Hegseth’s first time before some senators since he squeaked through his Senate confirmation with a tie-breaking vote. It was the closest vote of any Trump Cabinet member.

While he has talked a lot about making the military more lethal, it was his use of the unclassified, unsecured Signal messaging app that quickly caught public attention.

Set up by then-national security adviser Mike Waltz, a group chat that included Hegseth and other senior administration leaders was used to share information about upcoming military strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The chat came to light because the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, was inadvertently added to it. Waltz took responsibility for the gaffe, but Hegseth was roundly criticized for sharing details about the military strikes in that chat and in another one that included his wife and brother.

The Pentagon’s watchdog is looking into Hegseth’s use of Signal and expected to issue a report soon.