Mark Kelly slams Pete Hegseth at hearing: "The things you say matters"

[0:00] Senator Kelly. [0:01] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. [0:02] Gentlemen, thank you for being here. [0:04] Secretary Hegseth, safe to say that our weapons like SM-3s, Tomahawks, Patriot missiles have capabilities that are unmatched. [0:13] That's why they cost a lot, take a long time to produce. [0:16] Your budget requests $31.8 billion to expand production capacity for critical missile stockpiles. [0:24] Is that correct? [0:26] $31.8? [0:27] I'm looking at $53 billion for munitions acceleration, over 14 critical munitions, of which the ones you listed are a part. [0:36] Okay, $53. [0:36] So I believe more than that. [0:37] Yes, sir. [0:38] More than $20 billion more. [0:40] So we've been working together to grow the industrial base because we're all worried about how our stockpiles would hold up in a conflict against China. [0:49] Since the start of this war, you've made it a point to highlight the number of strikes the U.S. military is carrying out, citing that more than 13,000 targets had been struck as of April 8th. [1:04] On March 2nd, you said, and this is a quote, this was a massive, overwhelming attack across all domains of warfare, striking more than 1,000 targets in the first 24 hours. [1:14] On March 10th, you said, yet again, our most intense day of strikes inside of Iran. [1:20] On April 6th, you said, and this is another quote, the largest volume of strikes since day one of this operation. [1:28] Your department has released video after video of things blowing up. [1:33] None of us doubt the strength of the U.S. military and their ability to do hard things. [1:38] I understand that better than anybody. [1:41] The questions we should be asking and answering are, what does this cost us and what does it achieve for the American people? [1:51] Many of these strikes use our best weapons, and we're using a lot of them and a lot of interceptors. [1:59] Open source reporting has estimated that the military has used an outrageous number of patriots. [2:04] I'm not even going to say the numbers, but a lot of patriots, a lot of Thad Rounds, Jasimir, Tomahawks, very expensive, exquisite. [2:13] We can't make these munitions overnight, and it's clear from your budget request that you know that. [2:20] Can you tell us how many years specifically is it going to take to replace these systems? [2:30] Senator, thank you for the question. [2:31] I would defer to the comptroller on the amount because I think it's a lot higher than 53 if you look at long-range fires, JASMs, L-RASMs, Tomahawks. [2:39] We're looking at $238 billion. [2:41] Okay, a lot. [2:41] We're looking at $40 billion for hypersonic. [2:43] So I actually think it's closer to $330 billion in munitions. [2:46] Okay, how many years to replenish? [2:48] That's the question. [2:49] I think that's exactly the right question, too, Senator, because the time frame we were existing under was unacceptable. [2:55] Okay, well, tell me. [2:56] And what this budget does, I mean, months and years. [2:58] Fast. [2:58] Years. [2:59] I mean, we're building new plants in real time. [3:01] So just to replace what we have expended. [3:04] I said months. [3:05] And then you said years. [3:06] It depends on the weapon system. [3:08] But 2 to 3, 4x of what we have today. [3:11] So, yes, we're dealing with a reality under the previous administration of what they sent to Ukraine and what they allocated elsewhere. [3:16] Okay, I got it. [3:17] So we fired years worth of munitions. [3:20] And it is clear that these are being expended to try to achieve some objectives. [3:29] That was the plan. [3:31] But, Mr. Secretary, this war is stuck. [3:35] The Strait of Hormuz is closed. [3:38] The Iranian regime is in place. [3:41] The nuclear material is still in their hands. [3:45] Americans are being crushed by higher costs. [3:50] And it's not clear to them at all what the goal of this war is. [3:56] So, I've got about a minute. [4:01] And I want to go to another topic. [4:04] I saw your hearing yesterday. [4:07] And I'm going to give you one more chance to address a question here. [4:12] It's my understanding that the definition of no quarter is that legitimate offers of surrender will be refused or that detainees will be executed. [4:27] Is that your understanding of the definition? [4:30] Well, the only entity that would kill detainees or target civilians is the Iranians. [4:36] And they're the ones being crushed. [4:38] It's the Iranian military and their military capabilities. [4:41] The question is, do you understand the definition that I just read you? [4:47] Because that's the definition from your department's law of war manual. [4:53] Is that your understanding? [4:54] And I'm going to just get to the point here. [4:56] We fight to win and we follow the law, Senator. [4:58] Okay, so your quote was, we will keep pushing, keep advancing, no quarter, no mercy for our enemies. [5:07] And yesterday, you did not clarify whether you stand by this statement. [5:11] So, I'm going to give you another opportunity to clarify if that is what you meant. [5:18] Do you stand by that statement you made on March 13th? [5:21] We have untied the hands of our war fighters, we fight to win, and we follow the law. [5:28] Okay, so you're not clarifying. [5:30] So, you stand by that statement. [5:31] So, you're the Secretary of Defense. [5:34] The things you say matter. [5:35] And your response here, right now, makes it clear to the American people exactly why you are not right for this job. [5:44] It makes it clear to our enemies, Senator. [5:46] So, you're the Secretary of Defense.