Hegseth urges GOP to pass ‘generational’ defense funding before Democrats take over

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday called on Republicans to use their final weeks in control of Congress to pass a major military funding package, and declined to engage with Vice President JD Vance’s claim that the war in Iran cost the party its majorities.

Speaking to reporters as he left the Naval War College, Hegseth said securing funding for the department is his top priority over the next two months, The Daily Wire reported.

“My call to Republicans is: let’s come together through a reconciliation bill to fund President Trump’s War Department with a historic generational investment,” he said.

No ‘finger-pointing’

Asked about Vance’s post last week saying the war was the reason Republicans lost, Hegseth said he appreciated the vice president and would not join a “finger-pointing exercise.” He called Vance a substantive member of the team and said officials give candid feedback internally.

Hegseth defended Trump’s decision to confront what he described as Iran’s pursuit of a nuclear weapon. “History will judge him very kindly, and the military delivered,” he said.

He declined to spell out conditions that would formally end the war, but said Trump retains the advantage and the option to halt operations. “Whatever he wants to do is his prerogative, and the War Department is prepared to give him the tools to execute on that,” Hegseth said.

Hegseth also used his remarks at the college to criticize what he called a “stubborn undercurrent of passive-aggressive institutional resistance” there to the administration’s priorities.

Impeachment push

Hegseth brushed aside the threat of impeachment. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., has introduced articles accusing the administration of failing to properly consult Congress about the war, and a House vote could come this week.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is expected to become speaker in January, told ABC News that Hegseth “has abused his power, undermined our national security and engineered this reckless and costly war of choice in Iran.” He added, “Pete Hegseth has to go.”

President Donald Trump has publicly backed Hegseth, saying last week that he is doing “a very good job,” even as CBS News reported that Trump had privately asked advisers whether Hegseth should stay.

A $1.5 trillion request

The administration has asked for a $1.5 trillion defense budget, including a regular appropriations plan of about $1.1 trillion and a $350 billion reconciliation bill. The Pentagon has estimated the cost of the Iran war at nearly $29 billion.

A reconciliation bill can pass the Senate with a simple majority, avoiding a filibuster, but Senate Majority Leader John Thune has questioned whether Republicans have the 50 votes needed to pass and protect such a measure.

Congress also faces a Dec. 11 government funding deadline and has yet to finish the annual National Defense Authorization Act, which has been stalled by disputes over the war.

Supporters of the war say it has eliminated Iran’s ability to threaten its neighbors and U.S. forces with ballistic missiles and drones. Critics in both parties say it began without congressional approval and has cost American lives and driven up fuel prices.

Hegseth’s remarks came less than a week after the midterm elections, in which Republicans lost both chambers. Democrats will control both chambers starting Jan. 3, giving them authority over the committees that write the defense budget and oversee the Pentagon.