WASHINGTON, Apri; 29 (UPI) -- Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth alternated between championing a proposed massive increase to defense spending and fielding attacks from Democratic lawmakers during testimony on Capitol Hill Wednesday.
It marked the secretary's first appearance before lawmakers since the start of a war that has roiled the global economy and decimated Iran's military.
Hegseth appeared before the House Armed Services Committee alongside Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Pentagon's comptroller, Jules Hurst III. They entered the hearing room past protesters' chants of "arrest Hegseth" and yells of "war criminal." The secretary appeared unfazed.
"We're rebuilding a military that the American people can be proud of -- one that instills nothing less than unrelenting fear in our adversaries." Hegseth said in his opening statement.
Hegseth's testimony was intended to serve as a defense of the White House's petition to Congress for $1.5 trillion in defense spending for 2027, a 44%t increase from the 2026 budget.
