Secretary of War Pete Hegseth appeared before the Senate Appropriations Committee regarding additional Pentagon funding for the U.S. military.
But, the hearing began in chaos, when a total of four rabid leftists showed up to protest.
Right after Hegseth began his opening remarks, a woman stood up with a sign and started chanting.
Capitol Police acted quickly and removed her, but several other protesters followed suit.
One by one, they stood up and started protesting before being escorted out of the building.
Watch the wild moment here:
Thankfully, these deranged left-wing protesters were removed from the building without further incident and Pete Hegseth was allowed to continue his testimony.
However, this wasn’t the only heated moment of the day…
At one point, Democrat Sen. Gary Peters started screaming at Pete Hegseth about “leadership” in the war with Iran.
Watch how Hegseth handled the situation here:
🚨 HOLY SMOKES. This Democrat senator just started YELLING at the TOP OF HIS LUNGS and Sec. Pete Hegseth had the perfect response
SEN. PETERS (D): "WIN THE WAR! The men and women need leadership! WHEN WILL YOU SHOW LEADERSHIP?!"
HEGSETH: "Why don't YOU show some leadership and… pic.twitter.com/BhPi7CfWau
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) July 21, 2026
HOLY SMOKES. This Democrat senator just started YELLING at the TOP OF HIS LUNGS and Sec. Pete Hegseth had the perfect response
SEN. PETERS (D): “WIN THE WAR! The men and women need leadership! WHEN WILL YOU SHOW LEADERSHIP?!”
ADVERTISEMENTHEGSETH: “Why don’t YOU show some leadership and stand up to your fellow Democrats who won’t FUND the troops! Who stand and play partisan politics while YOU don’t give us the money!”
“You want to stand up here and talk about the troops? You won’t show ANY political courage to actually fund our department because you have Trump Derangement Syndrome and can’t actually commit to anything meaningful!”
For some additional context, the Pentagon is requesting tens of billions of dollars in additional funding, primarily to replenish supplies spent in the Iran war.
During his hearing, Hegseth estimated that the cost so far has been $37.5 billion.
CBS News has more:
Hegseth testified to the Senate Appropriations Committee following an escalation in the war with Iran in recent days. The U.S. and Iran have traded nightly strikes for over a week, and Iran has struck several commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, bringing to an end a shaky ceasefire between the two countries. During the hearing, Senate Democrats vehemently criticized the Trump administration’s Iran strategy.
In Tuesday’s hearing, Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine detailed the Trump administration’s supplemental funding request for $67 billion to help cover the cost of the Iran conflict and replenish crucial military supplies. The administration is also asking for $1.5 trillion on top of that to fund the department in the next fiscal year.
“Rest assured that every dollar appropriated to the Department of War will be focused on building the lethality of our joint force, and reinforcing peace through strength,” Hegseth said in his opening statement.
ADVERTISEMENTThe secretary did not mention Iran directly in his opening remarks, but said the supplemental request includes $21 billion for readiness, which he said would include replacing “much of the equipment utilized during recent operations.”
Under questioning from Illinois Democratic Sen. Richard Durbin, Hegseth said the administration estimates that the Iran conflict has cost $37.5 billion so far. He said that figure represents some costs that will be incurred through the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. A Pentagon official testified in mid-May that the war had cost about $29 billion at that point.
Tuesday’s Senate hearing came after three U.S. soldiers were killed in an Iranian attack Friday, while another service member died in Iraq during a controlled explosion to destroy an Iranian drone.
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