{"id":234,"date":"2026-05-12T15:35:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T15:35:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=234"},"modified":"2026-05-12T15:35:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T15:35:15","slug":"watch-live-hegseth-faces-bipartisan-grilling-about-weapons-drawdown-during-the-iran-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=234","title":{"rendered":"Watch live: Hegseth faces bipartisan grilling about weapons drawdown during the Iran war"},"content":{"rendered":"
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…<\/strong><\/div>

By BEN FINLEY, KONSTANTIN TOROPIN and BILL BARROW<\/strong><\/p>\n

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faced tough questions Tuesday from Republican and Democratic lawmakers about the Trump administration\u2019s end game for the Iran war, the cost of the conflict and its impact on\u00a0diminishing U.S. weapons stockpiles.<\/p>

Read more Colorado lawmakers want more lobbying transparency from the next governor. Could Polis could stand in the way?<\/a><\/p>\n

For his part, the Pentagon chief softened his tone from\u00a0hearings before Congress nearly two weeks ago, notably avoiding the same pointed criticism of lawmakers in his opening remarks as he outlined the Trump administration\u2019s efforts to\u00a0ramp up production of weapons\u00a0and other military capabilities.<\/p>\n

Even so, Hegseth insisted that the military has plenty of missile defense systems and other munitions for the Iran war or future conflicts as both Republicans and Democrats hammered him with those concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cI take issue with the characterization that munitions are depleted in a public forum,\u201d Hegseth said. \u201cThat\u2019s not true.\u201d<\/p>\n

The cost of the Iran war has risen to about $29 billion, the vast bulk of which \u2014 $24 billion \u2014 is related to replacing and repairing munitions but also includes operational costs to keep forces deployed, Pentagon comptroller Jay Hurst said. That\u2019s up from $25 billion that he told lawmakers nearly two weeks ago.<\/p>\n

The powerful House and Senate Appropriations subcommittees that oversee defense spending are holding back-to-back hearings to review the Trump administration\u2019s 2027 military budget proposal, which calls for a historic allocation of $1.5 trillion. The discussions in the House quickly veered into the handling of a war that\u00a0appears locked in a stalemate\u00a0as\u00a0higher fuel prices\u00a0pose political problems for Republicans in the midterm congressional elections.<\/p>\n