In a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on July 21, 2026, Senator John Ossoff (D-GA) asked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth about his request for almost $68 billion in additional taxpayer money to continue the U.S. war against Iran, that Convicted Felon/Adjudicated Sexual Abuser/President Trump started impulsively without consulting Congress or getting buy-in from U.S. allies. Hegseth’s request came after a record defense budget request for $1.5 trillion that the Trump administration had already proposed earlier this year.
Hegseth publicly stated shortly after the war started that “Operation Epic Fury [the name given to the conflict] was a historic and overwhelming victory,” and said “Iran’s military has been destroyed” and that the country’s military has been rendered “combat ineffective for years to come.”
None of that was true.
Senator Ossoff pressed Hegseth repeatedly on the veracity of his statements, asking Hegseth if they honest and accurate characterizations of “ongoing operations.”
Hegseth would not answer Sen. Ossoff’s questions.
Here is a transcript of Mr. Hegseth’s testimony, from the video above:
Sen. Ossoff: Mr. Hegseth, you are requesting roughly $68 billion for the [Defense] Department through the supplemental, correct?
Sec. Hegseth: 67 , yes.
Sen. Ossoff: And yesterday, your department stated “U.S. forces struck Iranian military command centers, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and air defense systems to degrade Iran’s ability to continue attacking commercial vessels.” That was a press release from your department. Is that a broadly accurate characterization of ongoing operations?
Sec. Hegseth: That sounds broadly accurate, yes.
Sen. Ossoff: On day 14 of this conflict, nearly five months ago, you stated Iran’s military had been “destroyed,” and “made combat ineffective.” That was on Day 14 of the war. Was that an accurate statement?
Sec. Hegseth: Um, they did not have a navy any longer, they were sunk. Missiles were buried under their underground facilities. Overall destroyed, as far as a military assessment of Iran’s capabilities, it did not mean by any stretch of the imagination absolute zero.
Sen. Ossoff: Mr. Secretary, you stated on day 14 of this conflict, the second week of the conflict that Iran’s military had been “destroyed,” and “made combat ineffective.” Was that an accurate statement? Yes or no.
Sec. Hegseth: Iran’s ability to challenge the United States of America at the level which we are capable of —
Sen. Ossoff: That is not what I asked, Mr. Secretary. You stated on day 14 the military had been “destroyed” and “made combat ineffective.” Yes or no, was that an accurate statement?
Sec. Hegseth: What the American military has done —
Sen. Ossoff: Will you answer the question, under oath? Three weeks later, you declared victory. That was now nearly four months ago. Three weeks after you’d already said Iran’s military was “destroyed” and “combat ineffective,” 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.” Were those accurate statements?
Sec. Hegseth: It certainly was, on behalf of the men and women in uniform, a historic military victory over Iran. Had Iran’s other….
Sen. Ossoff: Has Iran’s military been rendered “combat ineffective ” for years to come?
Sec. Hegseth: They had 160 naval vessels in a blue water navy, and they’re gone…Their air force is completely ineffective…
Sen. Ossoff: You need to answer questions, Mr. Secretary.
Sec. Hegseth: …And they don’t have a defense industrial base. Describe to me a country that doesn’t have a navy, air force, or defense industrial base, and I will describe a country that doesn’t have an effective military.
Sen. Ossoff: Mr. Secretary, you stated four months ago that Iran’s military had been rendered “combat ineffective for years to come.” Has Iran’s military been, for the last four months, combat ineffective?
Sec. Hegseth: It has been set back not just years, but likely decades —
Sen. Ossoff: Mr. Secretary, you stated we had “achieved every single objective.” Was that an accurate statement four months ago?
Sec. Hegseth: The main objective of this was to ensure Iran never gets a nuclear weapon. Their main sites were obliterated, we are watching over them and we’re holding them [at?] that issue. If they don’t give them up at the table, there are other ways we can take them. Iran will never have a nuclear weapon.
Sen. Ossoff: Early in the conflict on day three, you said one of those core objectives was to “destroy the missile threat.” As you restated on day five, to “obliterate Iran’s missiles and drones.” Those were clearly and repeatedly stated core objectives of the campaign, which four months ago you declared had been completed victoriously with every single objective achieved. Were those objectives achieved four months ago?
Sec. Hegseth: No one ever stated that every single missile was gone. Ultimately “combat ineffective” means they are not able to dig them out of their UGFs, it doesn’t mean they don’t have underground facilities where they put missiles and hold onto them because they are the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism. So we never expected they would stop having capabilities to shoot. The question is at scale against an opponent like the United States of America, which went toe to toe with them in Iran…
Sen. Ossoff: You stated on March 8, day nine of the war, you assured the American people of Iranians’ surrender. Does it remain your prediction?
Sec. Hegseth: Ultimately, Iran will never have a nuclear weapon and threaten the United States of America. That remains the objective.
Sen. Ossoff: To review, you will not answer whether your statement made on the 14th day of the war that Iran’s military had been “destroyed and made combat ineffective” was a truthful statement to the American people, as you sit here and ask for tens of billions more?
5:33 Moderator (Sen. Susan Collins- R-Maine: The Senator’s time has expired.