Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Wednesday regarding the department's fiscal year 2026 budget request — his fourth hearing this month.

Hegseth faced heated exchanges during the hearing as Democratic lawmakers pressed him with hypothetical scenarios aimed at portraying President Donald Trump's administration as overreaching and authoritarian.

'It's all meant to attempt to smear the commander in chief, and I won't fall for it.'

Democrats grilled Hegseth on the Trump administration's strategy amid the escalating tension between Israel and Iran, the deployment of troops in Los Angeles, and the termination of "qualified" military leaders.

Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) questioned Hegseth's leadership abilities, claiming the DOD "has been consumed by high turnover and disarray" since the secretary's confirmation.

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Senator Jack Reed. Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images

Hegseth countered Reed's critique by highlighting global instability under the prior administration, citing the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal, the outbreak of war in Ukraine, and the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack.

"That was a view of weakness and chaos unleashed by the Biden administration under the previous defense secretary," Hegseth said, referring to former Sec. Lloyd Austin. "So, if a few changes have to be made in the first portion of my term in order to get it right, I think that's pretty acceptable to establish deterrence and rebuild our military and restore the warrior ethos."

Several Democratic leaders decried Trump's decision to send National Guard troops to Los Angeles amid the anti-immigration enforcement protests that turned destructive and violent.

"What he's doing may well be illegal," declared Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). "I want to ask you about contingency plans for the use of active duty military in other cities. Do you have such contingency plans?"

Blumenthal noted that he was "deeply disturbed and alarmed" by Trump's move.

Hegseth retorted, "Senator, I would just say, we share the president's view that, as you characterized it, we are 'deeply disturbed and alarmed' that [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] officers are being attacked while doing their job in any city in America."

Senator Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) also questioned Hegseth about the deployed troops, pressing the secretary with outlandish hypotheticals.

"You claim lethality is your top priority. Do you plan to unleash this lethal force against U.S. citizens and civilians in L.A. and other cities?" Hirono asked.

Hegseth rejected the senator's characterization.

"I would like to have a professional response," Hirono snapped.

"Given this regime's dangerous policy of mobilizing troops inside the U.S., the politicizing of the military is a legitimate concern," she continued. "If ordered by the president — I'm going to ask you once again — to shoot peaceful protesters in the legs, would you carry out such an order from the president?"

Hegseth replied, "I reject the premise of your question and the characterization that I would be given or are given unlawful orders. It's all meant to attempt to smear the commander in chief, and I won't fall for it."

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Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) used his time to defend Hegseth after Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) claimed that the secretary would never be "held accountable" for allegedly disclosing military actions over the messaging application Signal.

Mullin fired back, "I wonder who was held accountable for the disastrous withdrawal out of Afghanistan, where 13 soldiers died and left thousands of Americans behind underneath Secretary Austin's lead?"

"Did one person get held accountable during that time?" Mullins questioned.

The senator defended Hegseth's record at the DOD after Democrats proclaimed that the department had been plagued with turmoil under his leadership.

Mullin noted that the DOD had the "lowest morale measured in our military history" and "absolutely disastrous" retention rates under Austin.

"You had recruitments that wasn't even meeting lowered standards that you guys lowered," Mullin told his fellow lawmakers. "Now, we have the highest morale that's been measured in decades in the military. We have recruiting numbers that are exceeding expectations."

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