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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth will give his first public testimony in the Senate since the start of the Iran war in a hearing that will expose the divide across the aisle in the upper chamber.
The hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday morning is meant to discuss the Pentagon’s staggering $1.5 trillion budget request for the upcoming fiscal year. Instead, it is expected to become a public back-and-forth on the war and the administration’s objectives.
Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., who chairs the committee, and Republicans on the panel are expected to push Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan “Raizin” Caine on turning that colossal budget request inward to rebuild military manufacturing stateside.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth and his wife, Jennifer, arrive at the House Armed Services Committee hearing on the Department of War fiscal 2027 budget request in the Rayburn Building on April 29, 2026. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc.)
“Like the generations that came before us, we are now revitalizing manufacturing right here at home to rebuild the American arsenal,” Wicker said in a statement. “By reindustrializing and investing in new technology, we are creating jobs across our homeland. This is critical work that supports our military and civilian workforce.”
But much of the hearing will likely be dominated by Operation Epic Fury, which will have entered its 59th day on Thursday. The war, along with its cost and timelines, was a focal point at the House’s hearing the day before.
Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., told Fox News Digital that the hearing would be a good opportunity to get a public update on how the conflict is progressing, and how the blockade in the Strait of Hormuz “is being realized, not just inside Iran, but global oil markets, and how they’ve interacted.”
When asked if he expected his Democratic colleagues to maintain composure during the hearing, Sheehy said, “I hope so, but hope don’t float.”
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Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., speaks to the press in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 11, 2024. (Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images)
Hegseth’s appearance before the panel comes as the 60-day deadline under the War Powers Resolution Act will arrive on Friday, and as Senate Democrats have forced weekly votes on resolutions to terminate hostilities in Iran. Time and again, Republicans have sided with the president, but that hasn’t stopped Democrats from exerting pressure.
Senate Democrats on the panel hope their Republican colleagues will ask hard questions of Hegseth, particularly on Iran and the $400 million in congressionally-approved funding for Ukraine that so far hasn’t been distributed.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told Fox News Digital that he believes Republicans share the same concern about the cost of the Iran war.
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Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., speaks to the press outside the Senate chamber in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 27, 2025. (Getty Images)
“They’ve been disappointed, I believe, in the administration’s failure to be more forthcoming,” Blumenthal said. “I’ve asked these questions in classified settings as well in open hearings, and, you know, they said they share my concern. Now, I don’t know whether that will come out here.”
The cost of the conflict in the Middle East so far was revealed during Hegseth and Caine’s appearance before the House Armed Services Committee’s own budget hearing on Wednesday.
The Pentagon’s acting comptroller, Jules Hurst, told Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., that to date, Operation Epic Fury had cost taxpayers $25 billion, and that “most of that is in munitions.”
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“We will formulate a supplemental through the White House that will come to Congress,” Hurst said. “Once we have a full assessment of the cost of the conflict.”
But some aren’t buying that figure as the real cost of the war.
“Sounds low to me, but I need to get briefed on the whole hearing as I decide what I’m going to ask tomorrow,” Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., told Fox News Digital.
