Hegseth hearing concludes with questions on long-term strategy in Iran war. Follow live updates.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told House lawmakers Tuesday that the cease-fire with Iran remains in effect despite recent exchanges of fire as he faces another round of bipartisan questioning over the costs and endgame of the war.

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He just finished testifying before the Senate, where one Democrat said he’s worried “you’ve achieved a series of tactical successes but are on the verge of a strategic loss.”

Follow along live.

By Kaitlin Lewis, Globe Staff

President Trump took a poll, by applause, during a dinner in the White House Rose Garden on Monday night, asking the crowd who theywant to see on the 2028 Republican presidential ticket.

Speaking at an event marking the start of National Police Week, the president veered off course and spoke for several minutes about the next presidential election.

“I don’t know who it’s going to be,” Trump said from the podium. “Is it going to be JD? Is it going to be somebody else? I don’t know.”

He then asked the crowd, “who likes JD Vance?”, which was met with applause and a few cheers. Trump then inquired about Rubio; the Florida Republicanreceived slightly less applause in response.

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By the Associated Press

The defense secretary’s hearing for a subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee has concluded with Democratic senators repeatedly asking the defense secretary for clarity on what the plan is to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Hegseth was defensive and countered that the questions were ignoring the US military’s successes in the war.

By the Associated Press

The Republican from Louisiana did not echo the administration’s claims of victory in Iran, noting the Strait of Hormuz remains closed.

But Kennedy agreed with Trump that the US has long-term leverage with its blockade of Iranian ships and those aligned with Tehran. And Kennedy pushed back at Democrats that he accused of suggesting the US already has lost.

“You’re not going to win over my Democratic friends,” Kennedy told Hegseth. “It’s not worth getting your blood pressure up. Focus on other things.”

Kennedy added a muted endorsement of international alliances. He wasn’t as direct as McConnell, but he concluded with advice:

“America First does not have to mean America alone,” he said. “We need all the friends we can get. They need to care their own weight. They need to pay their bills. But the more the better.”

By the Associated Press

Senator Chris Coons had some intense questions for the defense secretary after he claimed that the US essentially controls the Strait of Hormuz.

Coons repeatedly asked what the Trump administration’s strategy is for reopening the waterway to commercial shipping.

“If we control it, how do we reopen it? And your average American is seeing this at the gas pump every single day as the cost of gas continues to rise,” Coons told Hegseth.

Hegseth responded defensively, saying the senator was being disingenuous and ignoring the US’s “incredible battlefield successes.”

Still, Coons said he was worried that “you’ve achieved a series of tactical successes but are on the verge of a strategic loss.”

By the Associated Press

Some Democrats pushed back against Trump’s claims of victory and Hegseth’s assertions that Iran’s military has been obliterated.

Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat from New Hampshire, noted Iran’s continued use of drones, which are inexpensive assets compared to what the US has used to prosecute the war.

Hegseth retorted that “pulling a drone out of a cave that’s been collapsed” is not the same as “producing more drones.”

Shaheen was unmoved, joining colleagues who have put Hegseth on the defensive deep into his testimony.

“But if Iran still has almost 50% of their capacity and the ability to pull drones out of caves and still injure our allies and U.S. service members, then we have not won the war,” she said.

By the Associated Press

That posture has resulted in some tension between the Republican-controlled Congress and White House.

Presidents are legally required to gain authorization from Congress after 60 days of starting a war. However, the White House has argued that the 60-day deadline no longer applies because the war is currently in a cease-fire.

Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski voiced some skepticism to that argument. Pointing to the troops and warships deployed to the region, she said, “It doesn’t appear that that hostilities have ended.”

Murkowski has hinted she may bring legislation that would authorize the use of military force against Iran.

By the Associated Press

He claimed to senators that “ultimately we control the Strait, because nothing’s going in that we don’t allow to go in.”

It was a striking statement from the defense secretary at a time when Iran has seized control of the waterway, causing a global spike of fuel prices that’s rippled through other economic sectors. In response, the US has tried to cut off all Iranian traffic through the strait as well.

Hegseth claimed “the economic pressure that creates on them greatly outstrips the pressure on us.”

By the Associated Press

Ernesto Soberón Guzmán, the Cuban ambassador to the UN, said Tuesday that it is the US, not the small island country, that poses “an unusual and extraordinary threat” to the world and international law.

“Its acts of aggression and threats against Venezuela, Iran, Greenland, Canada, His Holiness the Pope, Palestine, Mexico, Cuba — and an endless list of others — demonstrate this to be true,” Guzman said in a statement.

His comments came hours after Representative Mario Díaz-Balart, a Florida Republican, asked Hegseth in a congressional hearing whether he believed the Cuban government poses a national security threat to the US The Pentagon chief responded, “I do.”

By the Associated Press

There are plenty of lawmakers, including Republicans, who are uneasy with President Trump’s war with Iran. GOP Senator Lindsey Graham isn’t one of them.

He drew a tough line as he questioned the Trump administration’s efforts to draw down the conflict and questioned the decision to use China and Pakistan as intermediaries in peace negotiations with Iran.

Graham’s ire was mostly aimed at efforts by previous Democratic presidents to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. He said those efforts had “failed.”

Graham praised the current war with Iran as “spectacular” and said there should be “more to come.”

By the Associated Press

The defense secretary wouldn’t offer lawmakers a timeline on delivering a plan for what the military will buy with the $400 million that was set aside for Ukraine aid by Congress at the start of the year.

Hegseth said he wanted to make sure US European Command, which has been tasked with determining what the money will be spent on, “is fully informed in how they want to spend this.”

However, Democratic Senator Chris Coons noted that “it’s May and this has been the law since January, and you or your representatives have been asked this repeatedly on a bipartisan basis by members of this committee.”

Hegseth has only publicly confirmed that he’ll spend the money about two weeks ago when he last appeared before Congress and just a day after Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell called out the Pentagon for withholding the funds in an editorial in The Washington Post.

By the Associated Press

The Republican, who’s in the midst of a reelection campaign for her Maine Senate seat, questioned whether the military anticipated Iran could take actions to blockade the Strait of Hormuz.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, told her the military’s briefings to the Trump administration “cover and consider the full range of things all the time in our careful consideration of military actions.”

But Collins, the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, responded with criticism for the Trump administration’s current strategy.

“It seems there has been a different plan almost daily with dealing with this problem,” she said.

Collins late last month also joined Democrats to vote for failed legislation that would have forced Trump to halt the war with Iran.

By the Associated Press

When pressed by Senator McConnell about US-China relations, the defense secretary said he wouldn’t speak for the president ahead of his Beijing summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

But Hegseth said the US has “worked very hard in that region, in the Indo-Pacific, with Japan, with the Philippines and others” to prioritize US security and security for its allies around China.

Hegseth said US interests are “amplified by burden sharing of partners who recognize the shared threats that we face and are willing to invest alongside us.”

He insisted that “every aspect” Trump does regarding China “is to ensure that American interests are advanced.”

McConnell had asked explicitly whether Trump is trying “to preserve American primacy or simply to accommodate China’s rise?”

The senator also asked about Trump’s commitment to navigational freedom in the South China Sea. Hegseth said, “Americans ships should — should sail freely. So should others.”

By the Associated Press

The Kentucky Republican got into the weeds on the president’s budget request, noting it’s not a $1.5 trillion annual baseline. Instead, he noted it’s a roughly $1.1 trillion request plus a supplemental bill.

The latter can be passed by “reconciliation,” a process that allows the Republican majority the smoothest process to bypass Democrats’ objections. But McConnell suggested the White House think about future years when Republicans may not have the Senate majority.

He said the Pentagon’s approach means it’s putting necessary ongoing funding requests in the supplemental, one-time measure.

McConnell alluded to “continuing resolutions” that have become a common budget device for a divided Congress to extend agencies’ funding even without a larger budget deal. But one-time funding, McConnell noted, cannot be included in those CRs.

“I’m confused by the administration’s failure to prioritize” ongoing funding, the senator said.

By the Associated Press

As Hegseth started his opening statement, a woman stood up and pronounced, “I am an Iranian American and against this war of aggression.”

Within moments, she was removed from the hearing room by Capitol police offers, but she continued to tell the hearing room she was opposed to the war with Iran.

There are a handful more anti-war protesters wearing pink shirts sitting in the back row of the Senate hearing room, but they remained silent. Several of them stood and walked out while Hegseth was talking.

By the Associated Press

Democratic Senator Chris Coons launched into a wide-ranging critique of how Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is leading the military and raised concerns that his decisions are undermining US military priorities.

“I am concerned that we have a distracted administration and a distracted department,” Coons said, adding that “We have a president who seems more focused on a $1 billion ballroom and a victory arch, rather than achieving actual victory.”

Coons also questioned why the administration has withdrawn support from allies in Europe, including Ukraine, at a time when their drone defenses could aid US efforts to counteract drone attacks from Iran.

By the Associated Press

Without naming Trump, McConnell sternly critiqued the president’s belligerent approach to traditional US allies and he advocated for NATO and defending Ukraine.

The former Republican Senate leader now chairs the Senate’s Appropriations subcommittee. McConnell told Hegseth that strained relationships with democratic allies “only serves our adversaries’ interests and limits our capacity and deterrent power globally.”

McConnell, who voted against Hegseth’s confirmation in 2025, said he wanted to see US assistance previously approved for Ukraine “reach their destination without further delay.”

The senator said such aid is not “charity,” but part of cultivating relationships that can benefit the US in the future.

“I want to hear about the future of capacity building with committed allies and partners,” he said.

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“We have things to learn from our friends,” McConnell added, alluding to Ukraine’s success in drone warfare.

By the Associated Press

The defense secretary has started his hearing before a Senate appropriations panel after spending several hours Tuesday morning testifying before House lawmakers.

The hearing room is packed and there are a handful of anti-war protesters in the audience as well.

Republican Senator John Kennedy greeted Hegseth with some friendly advice before the hearing got underway. “Don’t let them get you down,” Kennedy told Hegseth.

By the Associated Press

The budget subcommittee adjourned with a final bipartisan push for the Pentagon to provide more details about its $1.5 trillion budget request for the coming year.

The leading Democrat and Republican also noted the more professional tenor of the hearing, which did not feature the name-calling and other tense exchanges that have defined Hegseth’s previous Hill appearances.

“This is the way these hearings should be conducted, especially when it’s dealing with national defense,” said McCollum, the ranking Democrat, after urging Hegseth to answer the panel’s questions by the end of next week.

“I thank everyone for a respectful hearing, but we need the information, Mr. Secretary,” she added.

Representative Ken Calvert, the Republican chair, clarified that the committee wants details both for the Pentagon’s more immediate supplemental funding request and the larger proposal for fiscal 2027.

The subcommittee plans to more formally consider the administration’s requests on June 11.

By the Associated Press

He said “it’s evident” the ceasefire remains in effect in response to questions from lawmakers Tuesday.

“Cease fire means the fire is ceasing and we know that has occurred while negotiations occur,” Hegseth said even as the US military said it intercepted Iranian attacks on three Navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz last week.

Hegseth also said restarting military escorts of merchant shipping known as Project Freedom “could always recommence should the commander in chief want us to.”

By the Associated Press

Caine told the panel the Pentagon wants “a range and mix of capabilities that create outsized dilemmas for XI Jinping and others that are out there, to ensure that we maintain and sustain deterrence.”

He added that it’s “our primary focus” to assess the risks and ensure that Trump and Hegseth can always consider “a range of military options across the world.”

Caine’s statement comes hours before Trump departs for a summit with Xi.

The Joint Chiefs chair was responding to Rep. Hal Rogers. The Kentucky Republican is among several lawmakers raising concerns about China.

Earlier, the chairman of the full Appropriations Committee, Tom Cole, said “China is modernizing its military at a pace and scale that is alarming.”

Rogers, in his questioning of Caine, said he appreciated the administration’s push for more money to bolster US manufacturing for weaponry but cautioned that “we’re competing against the speed” at which China can build up its military.

By the Associated Press

The Pentagon’s top budget official told Congress the Defense Department now believes the cost of Operation Epic Fury is “closer to $29 (billion).”

Jules Hurst, the Pentagon comptroller, told Congress in testimony Tuesday that the estimate has climbed from the $25 billion he provided lawmakers nearly two weeks ago “because of updated repair and replacement of equipment … and also just general operational costs.”

By the Associated Press

In response to lawmakers arguing the US military is facing issues in replenishing the bombs and missiles it has expended in the war with Iran, Hegseth said the Pentagon is “well aware of all those dynamics.”

“The munitions issue has been foolishly and unhelpfully overstated,” Hegseth claimed before adding “we know exactly what we have, we have plenty of what we need.”

The comments come just days after Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly told “Face the Nation” on Sunday that it’s “shocking how deep we have gone into these magazines.”

Hegseth fired back on social media saying Kelly was “blabbing on TV (falsely & dumbly) about a *CLASSIFIED* Pentagon briefing he received.”

By the Associated Press

The defense secretary wouldn’t say anything specific about the next steps in Iran.

“We have a plan to escalate if necessary. We have a plan to retrograde if necessary. We have a plan to shift assets,” Hegseth told the subcommittee.

He was responding to Representative Betty McCollum, the panel’s ranking Democrat, asking whether the administration has a “Plan B” to scale back operations.

By the Associated Press

The Labor Department reported Tuesday that its consumer price index rose 3.8 percent from April 2025. On a month-to-month basis, April prices rose 0.6 percent from March as gasoline prices rose 5.4 percent.

Excluding volatile food and energy costs, so-called consumer core prices rose 0.4 percent last month from March and 2.8 percent from April 2025, relatively modest readings that suggest the energy price burst isn’t spilling over much yet into other prices.

Inflation had been dropping more or less steadily since peaking with a 9.1 percent year-over-year spike in prices in June 2022, a surge caused by supply chain bottlenecks at the end of COVID-19 lockdowns and an energy price shock following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But inflation remained above the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target.

Then, the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, and Tehran responded by shutting off access to the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passes. Energy prices rocketed in response.

By the Associated Press

Hegseth said the “admittedly a historic budget” the Pentagon is requesting from Congress is “a fiscally responsible budget, and it is a warfighting budget.”

Hegseth argued that the Trump administration inherited a defense industrial base that had been “hollowed out by years of America last policies, resulting in a diminished capability and capacity to project strength.”

However, in contrast with his Congressional testimony two weeks ago, Hegseth struck a much softer tone and did not personally criticize lawmakers in his initial remarks.

Representative Betty McCollum, a Democrat from Minnesota, specifically noted that “it was disappointing that you referred to members of both parties as defeatist” in previous testimony.

“I will not question your patriotism, nor will you question mine,” she added.

The defense secretary said the $1.5 trillion request also includes a large troop pay increase and “eliminates all poor or failing barracks” while investing heavily in projects championed by President Trump such as the Golden Dome and Golden Fleet.

By the Associated Press

Representative Tom Cole, the top Republican on the powerful House money committee, added his concerns about Trump’s approach on the world stage, saying “America First has never meant American alone.”

“American power is most effective when it’s exercised in concert with like minded nations who share our interests and our values,” the chairman said in his opening remarks.

He added an endorsement of NATO as a “critical pillar of collective defense” in the world.

“American strength is not diminished when allies shoulder their share,” he said. “It’s multiplied, and we must continue to sharpen our strategic advantages.”

Cole, an Oklahoma Republican, did not explicitly mention the president or his criticism of NATO and traditional U.S. allies. But his remarks stood as a clear contrast to Trump’s statements and approach.

By the Associated Press

Subcommittee Chairman Ken Calvert, a California Republican, and Ranking Member Betty McCollum, a Democrat from Minnesota, opened the hearing expressing bipartisan worry over the Pentagon’s budget requests, especially to fund the Iran war.

They repeated their request that the Trump administration offer a more detailed breakout of what the war costs and how the Pentagon would spend any budget increase.

“The subcommittee needs to understand how the resources requested in this budget translates into real, measurable improvements in warfighting capability,” Calvert said, adding that he has “serious concerns” about the request.

“Questions persist about whether we are building the depth and reliance required for a high end conflict,” he said.

McCollum noted that lawmakers have “asked several times for a complete update on ammunition levels, and it has not been provided.”

By the Associated Press

The House Appropriations’ defense subcommittee has opened its Tuesday session to hear from President Trump’s top advisers on the Iran war.

The hearing is part of a series of congressional budget deliberations. The Pentagon is asking for $1.5 trillion for fiscal 2027, a roughly 44 percent increase from the current US defense budget.

Hegseth has had contentious exchanges with Democrats in recent appearances on the Hill. But he’s been a staunch defender of the Iran war even as public opinion sours on the conflict.

By the Associated Press

The US Supreme Court set the stage for Alabama to eliminate one of two largely Black congressional districts before this year’s midterm elections, creating an opening for Republicans to gain an additional U.S. House seat in a partisan battle for control of the closely divided chamber.

The decision follows a Supreme Court ruling in April that struck down a majority-Black US House district in Louisiana as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander, significantly weakening a provision of the federal Voting Rights Act.

Alabama officials had pointed to the Louisiana case as a reason for the Supreme Court to end a judicial order to use a court-imposed House map until after the 2030 census. The high court on Monday overturned that order and directed a lower court to reconsider the case in light of the Louisiana decision. That could free the state to instead use a map approved in 2023 by the Republican-led legislature that includes only one district where Black residents comprise a majority.

By the Associated Press

Trump is scheduled to see doctors for a medical and dental checkup this month — his fourth publicized visit to medical experts since returning to office — in what the White House describes as an annual physical and regular preventive care.

Trump, who turns 80 next month and was the oldest person elected US president, will see his doctors at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on May 26, the White House said in a brief statement Monday evening.

The president’s health has been the subject of tremendous scrutiny, so much so that Trump said he regretted getting imaging on his heart and abdomen last year because it raised public questions about his health.

Trump has recently remarked how good he feels despite his years. Earlier Monday, Trump that he feels the same as he did 50 years ago. “I feel literally the same,” he said at an Oval Office event. “I don’t know why. It’s not because I eat the best foods.”

By the Associated Press

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will face a new round of questioning from lawmakers over the Iran war Tuesday, including some Republicans who have expressed concerns over the length of the conflict and its lack of congressional approval.

The powerful House and Senate subcommittees that oversee defense spending are holding back-to-back hearings to review the Trump administration’s 2027 military budget proposal, which calls for a historic allocation of $1.5 trillion. But the discussions are expected to veer into the handling of a war that appears locked in a stalemate as higher fuel prices pose political problems for Republicans in the midterm congressional elections.

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By the Associated Press

Israel sent Iron Dome anti-missile batteries and personnel to operate them to the United Arab Emirates to defend the country during the Iran war, the US ambassador to the country said Tuesday.

The comments by Mike Huckabee underline the growing defense relationship between Israel and the UAE, countries long suspicious of Iran, as a shaky cease-fire still holds in the Iran war. However, the narrow Strait of Hormuz remains in Tehran’s chokehold and negotiations between the US and Iran appear at a standstill for the moment — raising the risk of the conflict breaking out again.

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By the Associated Press

President Trump on Tuesday is set to leave for Beijing to meet with President Xi Jinping after weeks of trying, and failing, to persuade the Chinese government to use its considerable leverage to prod Iran to agree to US terms to end the two-month old war — or at the very least, reopen the critical Strait of Hormuz.

Trump has veered between venting that China, the world’s biggest buyer of Iranian oil, hasn’t done more to get the Islamic Republic in line, and acknowledging that Xi’s government helped de-escalate the conflict last month by nudging Tehran back to cease-fire talks when negotiations wobbled.

But ahead of the US leader’s high-stakes visit, the White House has set low expectations that Trump will be able to persuade Xi to change China’s posture.

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By the Associated Press

President Trump is scheduled to see doctors for a medical and dental checkup this month — his fourth publicized visit to medical experts since returning to office — in what the White House describes as an annual physical and regular preventive care.

Trump, who turns 80 next month and was the oldest person elected US president, will see his doctors at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on May 26, the White House said in a brief statement Monday evening.

The president’s health has been the subject of tremendous scrutiny, so much so that Trump said he regretted getting imaging on his heart and abdomen last year because it raised public questions about his health.

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