Latest news with #SenateArmedServices
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Hegseth caught in heated exchanges during Senate testimony
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faced tense questioning during testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee. CBS News congressional correspondent Nikole Killion has more.
CNN
a day ago
- Politics
- CNN
Democratic senator presses Hegseth over whether he'd follow orders from President Trump to shoot protestors
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth clashed with Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) on the Senate Armed Services Committee over whether he would follow orders for the military to shoot American protestors if they were handed down by President Donald Trump.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Hegseth says renaming military bases after Civil War soldiers who fought for slavery is ‘important for morale'
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth insisted Wednesday that military veterans and active-duty troops urged the Trump administration to rename American military bases after Confederate traitors who took up arms against the government to defend the enslavement of Black people — a move the secretary claims is 'important for morale.' In his testimony to the Senate Armed Services committee, Hegseth defended the president's decision to restore the names of several military bases in the South that were first named in honor of Confederate generals, despite Congress mandating their removal five years ago. 'It's something we've been proud to do, something that's important for the morale of the Army, and those communities appreciate that we've returned it back to what it was instead of playing this game of erasing names,' Hegseth said. Donald Trump is restoring the previous base names — including Fort Pickett, Fort Hood, Fort Rucker, Fort Polk, Fort AP Hill and Fort Lee — but claims to be finding military veterans and officials of distinction who share the same last names as the original Confederate honorees. Maine Sen. Angus King said he was 'somewhat puzzled' by the president's recent announcement to troops at Fort Bragg in North Carolina — which was renamed Fort Liberty under Joe Biden — that his administration was restoring the names of several bases, including Virginia's Fort Lee, which was initially named after Gen. Robert E. Lee before it was renamed Fort Gregg-Adams in 2023. Lee is the 'classic definition of a traitor,' King said. 'Why are you going through these incredible gymnastics, finding current soldiers or other soldiers to rename — and you slipped a minute ago, you said we're returning these bases to their original names,' King said. 'Why are you doing this? I don't understand what the motivation is to rename bases for people who took up arms against their country on behalf of slavery,' he added. 'What possible motivation could there be for this? Who is telling you to do this? Who is urging you to do this?' Hegseth said veterans and service members deployed from those bases share a 'legacy' and a 'connection' to the names. 'Thankfully, because so many men and women in this country have served, there's a Benning and a Bragg and a Pickett and a Hood that has a silver star or medal of honor that we can rename the bases to,' he added. Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a retired Army National Guard lieutenant colonel, disputed Hegseth's claim that veterans like her who were deployed from those bases have asked for the names to be returned. Duckworth, a former helicopter pilot who lost both her legs after her Black Hawk helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade in Iraq, served Alabama's Fort Rucker, named after confederate officer Edmund Rucker. The name was changed to honor Medal of Honor recipient Michael J. Novosel in 2023. 'I'd rather be associated with Mike Novosel than a failed confederate traitor,' Duckworth said. Senators also rejected Hegseth's claim that changing the base names is 'erasing history.' 'We're recognizing history, and recognizing mistakes have been made in this country,' King said. 'The greatest of all was a civil war.' Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia asked Hegseth how the family of Arthur Gregg — the first African American in the U.S. Army to reach the rank of lieutenant general — reacted to news that the military base honoring his name would be reverted to Fort Lee. 'You didn't call any of the families,' Kaine said. 'The families were called by the press. That's how they learned about this.' He asked that Hegseth not issue any orders to change the names of those bases to continue to recognize 'exemplary patriots' like Gregg. The secretary said notices to the bases will be delivered 'soon.' 'We very much thank and appreciate them, and we'll find ways to recognize them, but the orders will soon be going to those bases to change the names back to the original name that should have never been changed,' Hegseth said.
CBS News
2 days ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Hegseth tells Senate panel he's giving Trump "options" amid intensifying Iran-Israel conflict
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declined to elaborate on potential U.S. involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict, telling a Senate panel Wednesday his job is to ensure President Trump "has options and is informed of what those options might be." Hegseth and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine are testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, as the president mulls joining Israel's offensive against Iran. "My job, our job, chairman, is at all times to make sure we, the president, has options and is informed of what those options might be and what the ramifications of what those options might be," Hegseth said. He was responding to questions from Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, who had asked if he had been asked "actively to provide options for the president regarding a strike in the Middle East." Shaheen noted the U.S. 40,000 troops stationed in the region, many of whom she said are "in range of Iranian missiles." Later in Hegseth's testimony, he said that Iran "had an opportunity to make a deal. They should have made a deal." "President Trump's word means something," Hegseth said. "The world understands that. And at the Defense Department, our job is to stand ready and prepared with options. And that's precisely what we're doing." On Tuesday night, some lawmakers on both sides of the aisle moved to limit Mr. Trump's ability to order U.S. strikes on Iran, on the grounds that many past presidents have found ways to avoid asking for congressional authority to declare war, although the Constitution confers Congress with the power to declare war. Mr. Trump on Wednesday explicitly said he's considering joining Israel in strikes on Iran, telling reporters, "I may do it, I may not do it, nobody knows what I'm going to do." When asked if it was "too late" to reach a deal with Iran, Mr. Trump said "nothing's too late." He added that the Iranians have reached out but Mr. Trump said he told them "it's really late. You know? I said it's very late to be talking. ... There's a big difference between now and a week ago." Mr. Trump said Iranian officials suggested coming to the White House, which he said was "courageous," but "not easy for them to do." The Iranian embassy said in response that "no Iranian official has ever asked to grovel at the gates of the White House." Initially the Trump administration maintained that the U.S. was not involved and that Israel was acting unilaterally. But now, Mr. Trump is considering joining Israel in potential strikes against Iran's nuclear sites, including the secretive Fordo nuclear enrichment facility. The site is buried deep under a mountain, and military experts say Israel would need U.S. warplanes to drop so-called "bunker-buster" bombs to penetrate the facility. Mr. Trump on Tuesday called for "unconditional surrender" by Iran's clerical rulers and threatened Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, saying the U.S. knew where he was but would not kill him — "at least not for now." The president added, "Our patience is wearing thin." Khamenei, in his Wednesday address, called Mr. Trump's ultimatum "unacceptable." Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told Al Jazeera English Wednesday that any U.S. involvement would result in an "all-out war." Democratic Sen. Jack Reed, the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, criticized Hegseth and told him that while he's been at the helm, the Pentagon has been "paralyzed by infighting and stripped of expert staff at a time when we need stability and professionalism." Hegseth responded with a statement that the Defense Department is "executing a common-sense agenda to achieve peace through strength."
Associated Press
2 days ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Live updates: Hegseth appears before Congress as Israel-Iran conflict escalates
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is returning to Capitol Hill on Wednesday for the last in a series of often combative hearings before lawmakers, who have pressed him on everything from a ban on transgender troops to his use of a Signal chat to share sensitive military plans. The hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee may be dominated by the escalation of airstrikes between Iran and Israel that threaten a potentially devastating regional war. Update: Date: 2025-06-18 12:03:00 Title: Ask AP Reporters a question Content: We'll answer a few each day during our live coverage. Update: Date: 2025-06-18 12:00:26 Title: Hegseth faces more grilling from Congress as Iran-Israel conflict escalates Content: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is returning to Capitol Hill on Wednesday for the last in a series of often combative hearings before lawmakers, who have pressed him on everything from a ban on transgender troops to his use of a Signal chat to share sensitive military plans. The questions — which also have touched on his firings of top military leaders and even some of his inner circle of advisers — may be dominated by the escalation of airstrikes between Iran and Israel that threaten a potentially devastating regional war. But he is still expected to face sharp questions about his chaotic tenure, his opposition to women in combat jobs and efforts to shift funding from troop housing to border security. The U.S. has shifted significant numbers of refueling tankers and fighter aircraft to position them to be able to respond if needed to the conflict, such as possible evacuations or airstrikes. Hegseth said this week that was done to protect U.S. personnel and airbases. ▶ Read more about Hegseth's upcoming hearing
