Sen. Gillibrand grills Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Iran war

Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News on Apr 30, 2026

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Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand on Thursday grilled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over his handling of the unpopular war with Iran as he spent a second day on the Capitol Hill hot seat.

The New York Democrat called out Hegseth for the administration’s refusal to seek approval of Congress for the war.

“I would like to know why you have not sought the support of the American people. Three out of five Americans are against this war,” Gillibrand said.

“We do have the support of the American people,” Hegseth retorted.

“So you don’t care that the American people are not supporting this war,” Gillibrand added.

Hegseth mostly refused to directly respond to harsh questions from Democrats on the Armed Services Committee during the second day of hearings on Capitol Hill. It’s his first time answering lawmakers’ questions since the war started two months ago.

Like other Democrats, Gillibrand also tried in vain to get Hegseth to answer questions about a deadly strike on an Iranian elementary girls school that killed more than 165 people, including many children.

She asked about the dramatic cuts in the Pentagon unit that seeks to prevent civilian deaths.

“Why did you cut by 90% the division that’s supposed to help you not target civilians?” Gillibrand asked sharply.

Hegseth responded that the Pentagon has an “ironclad commitment” to prevent civilian deaths.

In his opening statement, Hegseth trashed Democrats and some Republican critics as “defeatists from the cheap seats” who ignore the U.S. military successes in the war, which has been paused by a ceasefire that Trump extended indefinitely.

Hegseth said Trump had the courage to launch the attack on Iran, which he said was needed to prevent Tehran from building nuclear weapons.

“We have the best negotiator in the world driving a great deal,” Hegseth said.

The hearing and a similar one in the House of Representatives were called to discuss the Trump administration’s 2027 military budget proposal, which would boost defense spending to historic $1.5 trillion. It stresses the need for more drones, missile defense systems and warships