Pete Hegseth had a series of tense exchanges with top Democrats on Capitol Hill as he revealed the huge price tag for the Iran war.
Donald Trump’s Secretary of War was grilled over the conflict, which has been going on for more than 60 days and is estimated to cost $25 billion.
He faced questioning over the President’s claim that Iran’s nuclear facilities were totally ‘obliterated’ – despite citing the regime’s nuclear program as a reason to go to war.
Hegseth railed against the severe questioning by Democrats, who he claimed were ‘blinded’ by their ‘hatred toward Trump.’
He told top Democrat Adam Smith of Washington that Iran’s nuclear facilities were taken out by B2 bombers during Operation Midnight Hammer – the June 2025 attack by the US.
Given the administration’s earlier claims, Smith felt the need to question Trump’s reasoning for starting the Iran war seven months later in February.
‘We had to start this war… because the nuclear weapon was an imminent threat,’ said Smith.
‘Now you’re saying that it was completely obliterated?’ he probed.
Hegseth responded by saying that Iran ‘had not given up their nuclear ambitions and still had thousands of missiles.
Smith said the war ‘left us at exactly the same place we were before.’
Pete Hegseth is questioned about the ongoing conflict in Iran by the US House Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill on Wednesday as part of a hearing to discuss the Pentagon’s budget
Representative Adam Smith, the House Armed Services ranking member, questioned Hegseth on the President’s reasoning for starting the war. Above, at a committee meeting in 2024
The war with Iran has cost $25 billion so far, a Department of Defense official told the hearing
Hegseth faced intense questioning from lawmakers for the first time since the Trump administration launched the war against Iran as he appeared on Capitol Hill for the first time since the Iran war began at the end of February.
Wednesday’s hearing was set to discuss the Pentagon’s budget for the coming 2027 fiscal year.
The administration has prepared a 2027 military budget proposal, which would boost defense spending to a historic $1.5 trillion.
Earlier in the hearing, it was revealed that the war with Iran has cost $25 billion ‘so far,’ according to the Department of Defense’s comptroller, Jay Hurst.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and his wife arrive for Hegseth’s testimony before the House Armed Services Committee April 29, 2026 in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, DC
Hegseth stares down the camera on Capitol Hill
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, prepares to testify for a US House Armed Services Committee
A number of Democrats on the Committee railed against Hegseth and the greater Trump administration in their lines of questioning.
Democrat John Garamendi of California claimed that Hegseth, as well as the president, have been ‘lying to the American public about this war from Day 1’ and also described the strategy around operations as an ‘astounding example of incompetence.’
‘This war of choice is a political and economic disaster at every level’ Garamendi also noted.
