Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had a tense exchange with a top Democrat on Capitol Hill on Wednesday over the current state of Iran's nuclear facilities.
Hegseth told the House Armed Services Democratic Ranking Member, Representative Adam Smith of Washington, that Iran's nuclear facilities were taken out in Operation Midnight Hammer, the 2025 attack by the US that took place last June.
Given the administration's earlier claims, Smith felt the need to question Trump's reasoning for starting the Iran war.
'We had to start this war, you just said 60 days ago, because the nuclear weapon was an imminent threat,' said Smith.
'Now you're saying that it was completely obliterated?' he probed.
Hegseth responded by saying that Iran 'had not given up their nuclear ambitions' and still had thousands of missiles.
Smith said the war 'left us at exactly the same place we were before.'
Hegseth faced intense questioning from lawmakers for the first time since the Trump administration launched the war against Iran as he appeared on Capitol Hill for the first time since the Iran war began at the end of February.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, prepares to testify for a US House Armed Services Committee hearing titled 'Department of Defense FY2027 Budget Request,' on Capitol Hill on April 29, 2026
Representative Adam Smith, the House Armed Services ranking member, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 11, 2024
U.S. Central Command posted a video on March 30, 2026, of the United States targeting various military Iranian assets with caption: U.S. forces continue to eliminate the Iranian regime's ability to project power in meaningful ways outside of Iran's borders
Wednesday's hearing was set to discuss the Pentagon's budget for the coming 2027 fiscal year.
The administration has prepared a 2027 military budget proposal, which would boost defense spending to a historic $1.5 trillion.
Earlier in the hearing, it was revealed that the war with Iran has cost $25 billion 'so far,' per the DoD's comptroller Jay Hurst.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and his wife arrive for Hegseth's testimony before the House Armed Services Committee April 29, 2026 in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, DC
Hegseth stares down the camera on Capitol Hill
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, prepares to testify for a US House Armed Services Committee
A number of Democrats on the Committee railed against Hegseth and the greater Trump administration in their lines of questioning.
Democrat John Garamendi of California claimed that Hegseth, as well as the president, have been 'lying to the American public about this war from Day 1' and also described the strategy around operations as an 'astounding example of incompetence.'
'This war of choice is a political and economic disaster at every level' Garamendi also noted.