Hegseth in the Hot Seat

Summary

Pete Hegseth, the secretary of defense, went before Congress to answer for a war in Iran that has reached a stalemate and a management style that has caused controversy at the Pentagon. Eric Schmitt, a national security correspondent, takes us inside Mr. Hegseth’s testimony. Guest: Eric Schmitt, a national security correspondent for The New York Times in …

Key takeaways

• Hegseth invoked a novel legal interpretation—that an active ceasefire pauses the 60-day War Powers clock—to avoid seeking congressional authorization for the Iran war, a position legal scholars dispute.
• Senate Republicans offered virtually no critical scrutiny of Hegseth or the Iran campaign, while Democrats pressed hard on war costs (~$1B/day), stalled objectives, insider trading concerns, and potential military involvement in 2026 elections.
• Hegseth refused to directly commit to disobeying a presidential order to deploy military forces to seize ballots or voting machines, only stating he had 'never been ordered to do anything illegal.'

Why this matters

For defense industry, national security, and government affairs professionals, Hegseth's testimony signals an administration willing to stretch statutory war-powers limits, pursue a record $1.5 trillion defense budget, and resist congressional oversight—reshaping the risk and compliance landscape for contractors, allies, and institutional investors alike.

Entities

Show notes

Pete Hegseth, the secretary of defense, went before Congress to answer for a war in Iran that has reached a stalemate and a management style that has caused controversy at the Pentagon. Eric Schmitt, a national security correspondent, takes us inside Mr. Hegseth’s testimony. Guest: Eric Schmitt, a national security correspondent for The New York Times in Washington. Background reading: Read takeaways from Mr. Hegseth’s second day of testimony on the Iran war. Photo: Anna Rose Layden for The New

Themes

• daily