'Wouldn't trust him with one dollar': James Walkinshaw calls Pete Hegseth unqualified

Rep. James Walkinshaw strongly criticised Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth while speaking to reporters outside Capitol Hill. When asked whether he trusted Hegseth with another $30 billion for the war in Iran, Walkinshaw said he could not trust the Defense Secretary with one dollar. "I've seen him in the classified briefings. The guy doesn't know what the hell he is doing. He is a TV personality. He is not a Secretary of Defense. Totally unqualified, totally incompetent, and totally not up to the job," he said.

According to a New York Times report, Jay Hurst, the Pentagon comptroller, said that the cost of the war in Iran stood at approximately $29 billion in May. A couple of weeks prior, Hegseth had testified in Congress and estimated the cost of the war to stand at $25 billion. "That's because of updated repair and replacement of equipment costs and also just general operational costs," Hurst had said at the time.

Recently, the Pentagon sought roughly $80 billion to cover the cost of the war, as per Associated Press. While the White House Office of Management and Budget has not yet made an official request to Congress, Hegseth visited Capitol Hill on Monday. Despite a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for an interim peace deal between Washington and Tehran, lawmakers on both sides of the political spectrum remain skeptical.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he's expecting a supplemental spending request from the government, but added that he would work through the issue and see where the votes are. "We need to make sure we're doing everything we can to replenish, resupply a lot of our munitions that have been depleted—not only just with what’s happening with Iran, but prior to that," he said. The $80 billion request also comes after President Donald Trump requested $1.5 trillion for the Pentagon.

When asked about the Pentagon's recent $80 billion request and whether Americans would support such an expense at a time when a lot of them were struggling, President Trump said that the reporter did not work for a good group. "Not only do they support it, they demand it because they won't allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon. You want to see trouble? Let them have a nuclear weapon. We are doing very well with Iran," he said.

Lawmakers, however, are unsure, as both houses of Congress approved a War Powers resolution to block U.S. military action in Iran. Trump was not happy about it, as per eminent journalist Kaitlan Collins, who reported that during Wednesday's meeting with Republican senators at Capitol Hill, the President got into a "shouting match" with Sen. Bill Cassidy over the resolution.