'You, sir, are the failure': Hegseth BLASTED at Senate hearing for Iran catastrophe

[0:00] Tonight, the Pentagon has identified Sergeant Angel Ron Prasad of New York as the third service member believed to have been killed by an Iranian strike in Jordan last Friday. [0:09] And this now brings the death toll of U.S. troops since the start of Trump's war with Iran to 18. [0:14] And now this afternoon, 144 days into this war, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth testified before the Senate Appropriations Committee [0:22] and estimated that the total financial cost now sits at 37 and a half billion dollars. [0:28] And while that number is eight billion dollars, more than what the Pentagon estimated back in May, [0:32] it is dwarfed by the Pentagon's own internal estimates, which, according to NBC News, is anywhere between 80 and 100 billion dollars. [0:40] And these figures are made even more glaring by the fact that the reason Hegseth was on the Hill today in the first place [0:45] was to ask for more money for this war without laying out any strategy or clear objective for the war. [0:53] Well, at the same time, The Washington Post reports that the Pentagon is apparently running out of money. [0:57] And so far, that has resulted in military exercise and as in trainings that help keep units prepared for combat [1:02] being limited or canceled, according to four current and former officials. [1:06] It's almost like a former Fox News weekend host wasn't exactly prepared to oversee the Department of Defense, [1:13] well, at any time, but during wartime. [1:16] And today, multiple senators questioned Hegseth's need for additional funds, the lack of any coherent strategy, [1:21] the premature claims of victory, and also the ever-changing objectives of this war, [1:27] including Democratic Senator Gary Peters, who channeled what I think millions of Americans are feeling right now. [1:32] Take a listen. [1:35] Secretary Hegseth, despite your failure to win this war, [1:39] you are back now before Congress asking for almost 70 billion dollars in additional funding. [1:45] You're asking the American people for a blank check, [1:47] because, once again, the Trump administration's efforts have been an utter and complete failure [1:53] to win this war to this point. [1:55] So my question for you, sir, is how is your strategy different than what we've seen in the past? [2:02] I think your characterization of this incredible effort as a failure is reckless. [2:06] And I think it's irresponsible. [2:07] And I think it smears the sacrifice of the troops that are out there making on behalf of the American people [2:11] to ensure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon. [2:14] Shame on you and others who call this a quagmire and a failure. [2:18] And then you want to turn around and say you support the warfighter. [2:20] Secretary Hegseth, if you listened to my comments, you would have heard me say how amazing our warfighters are. [2:26] I heard failure. [2:28] I will tell you how I use the word failure. [2:30] Because I use the word failure to their leaders. [2:33] You, sir, are the failure. [2:37] Joining me now is Michigan Senator Gary Peters, [2:39] member of the Senate Appropriations and Armed Services Committee. [2:41] And as I told you, I think really channeled what a lot of people are feeling who have been deeply worried about this war, [2:48] which is the majority of Americans. [2:50] Senator, I just showed people really a sliver of the hearing today. [2:54] For people who didn't watch the totality of the hearing, give us your take on Secretary Hegseth's performance. [3:00] Did he answer any of the questions you really needed him to answer? [3:04] And where did you think he really fell short? [3:06] He didn't. [3:06] He didn't answer questions. [3:07] You know, he's a guy that can give out talking points. [3:10] And the talking points are not based on any kind of reality of what's actually happening. [3:14] We've heard from the president. [3:16] We've heard from Secretary Hegseth that the war is over over the last few months. [3:19] The war is over. [3:20] We're winning the war. [3:21] And yet, as we know, that we've got, tragically and sadly, we've got warfighters that are going to come back tomorrow to Dover [3:29] who are going to be greeted by grieving families because they've lost beloved members of their family. [3:36] People are dying. [3:37] A war is not over when American service members are dying. [3:41] The war is not over because, according to the Trump administration, [3:44] they wanted to deal with the nuclear material that's in Iran. [3:47] It's still there. [3:48] That is still not secure. [3:49] That material is there. [3:51] They've said that, well, we've destroyed their missiles. [3:53] We've destroyed their ability to strike. [3:55] And yet, that attack showed that, actually, Iranian missiles are not only more lethal, [4:00] they're actually more maneuverable. [4:02] Something is going on. [4:03] And then, of course, we have the Strait of Hormuz, which was fully open before the war. [4:08] Oil was flowing. [4:09] Gas prices were low. [4:10] And then, after the war started, that was shut off. [4:13] They did not prepare to protect the Strait, as they should have. [4:17] And now, oil prices or gas prices are going back up again. [4:20] Again, this war is turning into a forever war because there's not a strategy to win the war. [4:25] And that's why I took on Secretary Hegseff, is that it's a failure of leadership. [4:30] I want to say again, as we're on air here, the men and women who serve in the military are absolutely amazing folks. [4:36] They are heroes each and every day. [4:38] But you have to have good leadership at the top. [4:41] And that's the commander-in-chief, President Trump, and Secretary Hegseff. [4:45] And they are failing. [4:46] And that's why they're coming back with looking for more money to continue this war and drag this out as American consumers pay more at the pump through all of their purchases. [4:57] And we lose service members. [5:00] It's unacceptable. [5:01] And we are not going to give them more money until they come with a better plan than they have now. [5:05] And I don't think they have one. [5:07] And just to be clear, I listened to the entire exchange. [5:09] You said that proactively before you even—he started answering questions about honoring the men and women who serve. [5:16] Let me ask you about the cost here, because there is so much dishonesty that we're getting from the administration, as you've just outlined there. [5:24] They're not being honest about the number of troops who have been injured. [5:27] They're not being honest about operational challenges. [5:29] They're not being honest about maybe they don't know what the goals and objectives are, how they're going to end this war. [5:35] Hegseff confirmed that the new cost of war, that it has cost $37.5 billion. [5:40] That is significantly lower than what a bunch of journalists, including NBC News, have reported. [5:45] What do you believe here? [5:47] What should the American people understand about the actual cost? [5:50] It's got to be a lot more than that. [5:52] We have to be able to find out what it is and check it. [5:55] But there's a lot that isn't in that cost. [5:57] If we haven't had a chance to really look at the breakdown of how they determine that. [6:01] But they've also—we know the Iranians have hit military facilities. [6:04] There are costs associated with repairing those facilities. [6:07] I don't think some of that is in those estimates. [6:09] So certainly it is a lot higher. [6:12] But I think it's also—we're talking about cost. [6:13] Remember, it's not just the cost to the federal treasury. [6:17] It's the cost to consumers in America. [6:19] What is the cost of paying considerably more at the gas pump? [6:23] That's hurting people who already now feel they're drowning with inflation and the higher cost are paying more every single day for gas. [6:31] Grocery prices are up. [6:32] Farmers are paying tens of thousands of dollars more because of fertilizer that's not coming through the Strait of Hormuz. [6:38] So the costs are certainly to the treasury. [6:40] And now they're asking for more war, which, by the way, will just add to the deficit, which will also increase interest rates. [6:46] So what you pay for a mortgage, what you pay to buy a car, all those costs are reflected because of this war [6:53] and the tremendous cost both to the federal treasury and to the pocketbooks of Americans all across this country.