'Worst Defense Secretary': Amy McGrath criticizes Pete Hegseth's performance in Senate hearing

As Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday made the Trump administration's case for the U.S. Military's need for $87.6 billion in new funding, mainly for the Iran War, in front of the Senate Appropriations Committee, lawmakers tore into him and Gen. Dan Caine. Senators from both sides of the aisle pressed Hegseth on his claims, commitments, and outlook of the war, and his answers left most of them unsatisfied. Looking back at his performance in the hearing, former Marine fighter pilot and political candidate from Kentucky, Amy McGrath, labeled Hegseth the worst Defense Secretary in history. 

During the hearing, Sen. Jon Ossoff pressed Hegseth over his claims regarding the success of the U.S. military and the rising costs of the war with Iran. While Hegseth maintained that Iran's military had been sent back decades and that while they can "lob missiles," they are not "combat effective." Ossoff pointed out that despite past declarations of victory, the war isn't over yet and the Pentagon is now requesting tens of billions in additional war funding. Sharing the clip of the exchange on X, McGrath wrote: "Just watched the SASC hearing. Hegseth is, by far, the worst SecDef in American history."

At the top of the hearing, Hegseth claimed that the supplemental funding was an "urgent, necessary injection of resources" for the department without directly mentioning the Iran war in his opening statement. He further shared that the latest estimate of total costs in the war so far is $37.5 billion, and clarified that the proposed budget package includes $60 billion and $12 billion for other national security needs, along with $10 billion for farm aid and $10 billion for voting law changes.

Unconvinced of the ask, Ossoff sparred with Hegseth on whether the U.S. military secured an "overwhelming victory" in Iran, as the secretary and President Donald Trump have long declared. "You said, 'Operation Epic Fury was a historic and overwhelming victory.' You said Iran's military had been rendered 'combat-ineffective for years to come,' and you stated we had 'achieved every single objective,'" Ossoff said. "Were those accurate statements?" he asked. 

Hegseth asserted that the U.S. had achieved a "historic military victory over Iran," pointing to the U.S. strikes on the Iranian air force, navy and defense industrial base, and claiming that Tehran can only launch a few missiles but they are not combat effective. Ossoff wasn't satisfied. 

Late in the hearing, Sen. Gary Peters claimed that the administration's efforts have been "an utter and complete failure to win this war." Hegseth was seemingly offended by the characterization, alleging that Peters' statement was "irresponsible" and smears service members. "You, sir, are the failure. Not the men and women who are on that front line, not the men and women who hold up their honor with distinction," Peters responded, claiming Hegseth didn't have a long-term plan to actually win the war. 

The Defense Secretary hit back by saying Peters has "Trump Derangement Syndrome," and accused Democrats of playing partisan politics and not funding the troops. Hegseth didn't escape the criticism from Republican leaders either, as Sen. Susan Collins slammed him for disproportionately blocking the promotions of several women and people of color, citing a report from The New York Times.