By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Pew PatriotsPew PatriotsPew Patriots
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
  • Home
  • News
  • Tactical
  • Guns and Gear
  • Prepping & Survival
  • Videos
Reading: Defense budget debate devolves into fight over Hegseth’s controversies
Share
Font ResizerAa
Pew PatriotsPew Patriots
  • News
  • Tactical
  • Guns and Gear
  • Prepping & Survival
  • Videos
Search
  • Home
  • News
  • Tactical
  • Guns and Gear
  • Prepping & Survival
  • Videos
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
Defense budget debate devolves into fight over Hegseth’s controversies
Tactical

Defense budget debate devolves into fight over Hegseth’s controversies

Jimmie Dempsey
Last updated: April 29, 2025 9:08 pm
Jimmie Dempsey Published April 29, 2025
Share
SHARE

“The fact that Secretary Hegseth is still employed is a joke,” House Armed Services Committee member Marilyn Strickland, D-Wash., said during a panel markup on the defense budget boost. “And what is more appalling to me is [Republicans’] constituent silence. At some point, you have to speak to the American people.”

Tuesday’s hearing was scheduled to allow committee members to mark up the defense funding section of congressional Republicans’ massive reconciliation bill. While the measure calls for steep cuts in a number of federal agencies, the Defense Department would see a $150 billion boost in the plan.

RELATED

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., said the money represents “an opportunity to make a generational investment in our national security.”

Among other priorities, about $9 billion would be set aside for quality-of-life improvements, $34 billion for shipbuilding and maritime industrial base actions, and $5 billion for border security efforts.

However, committee Democrats expressed concerns with the overall reconciliation plan, and steep reductions in funding for non-defense programs. They also voiced reservations about who will be spending the new defense money in the coming years.

“We should not give Pete Hegseth a $150 billion blank check,” said Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass. “Heck, I wouldn’t trust the secretary with 20 bucks.”

Instead of attacking specifics of the defense plus-up plan, the minority party over four hours of debate offered more than 20 amendments dealing mostly with curbing Hegseth’s authority and investigating his management practices.

Another amendment called for written justification for Hegseth’s firing of former Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. CQ Brown in February. A proposal from Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., would have barred the Defense Department from using any funds to support a personal makeup studio for Hegseth, an amenity he reportedly renovated off his office earlier this year.

One amendment would have reduced Hegseth’s salary to $1. One from Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., demanded the defense secretary be forced to resign.

Rogers on Tuesday dismissed nearly all of the criticism of Hegseth as off-base and unrelated to the budgetary efforts.

None of the Democrats’ legislative proposals from the hearing were ultimately adopted by the Republican-majority committee. For most of the day, no more than a few GOP members beyond Rogers were present for the discussion, and none engaged in debate over the attacks on Hegseth.

The committee approved the defense portion of the reconciliation plan by a 35-21 final vote, sending it to the full chamber for consideration sometime next month. Five Democrats voted with all the committee Republicans for passage.

Leaders in both the House and Senate still must negotiate a final draft of the overall bill before the plan can be sent to Trump to become law.

Meanwhile, House Democrats promised to keep up the oversight — and pressure — on Hegseth in weeks to come.

“He has proven himself to be incompetent, to be reckless, to be paranoid, and he cannot be trusted with the responsibility of our precious resources or the lives of our military men and women,” Houlahan said. “He needs to go, one way or another.”

Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He has covered Washington, D.C. since 2004, focusing on military personnel and veterans policies. His work has earned numerous honors, including a 2009 Polk award, a 2010 National Headliner Award, the IAVA Leadership in Journalism award and the VFW News Media award.

Read the full article here

You Might Also Like

Pentagon ends new radar effort meant for Guam missile defense

Marine Corps IDs pilot killed in Southern California helicopter crash

Army will end most of its ceremonial horse programs

Trump taps Fleet Forces head as Navy’s next chief of naval operations

Have Gun, Will Travel: Traveler’s Guide to the Firearm Laws of the Fifty States

Share This Article
Facebook Twitter Email Print
Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

We Recommend
Trump visits South Korea as he attempts to secure billions in investment
News

Trump visits South Korea as he attempts to secure billions in investment

Jimmie Dempsey Jimmie Dempsey October 29, 2025
Trump says China will work with him to stop fentanyl trafficking
Trump Says He Could Deploy U.S. Military in American Cities, Claims ‘Courts Wouldn’t Get Involved’
Blue Jays bounce back against Dodgers to even World Series after extra-inning marathon
Newsom invokes Scripture in attack on GOP over shutdown affecting food assistance: ‘Cruelty is the policy’
Nanny found with suspected psychedelic mushrooms accused of fatal stabbing, screwdriver attack on family
White House urged firing live bombs for Trump’s Navy visit: AP sources
Tactical

White House urged firing live bombs for Trump’s Navy visit: AP sources

Jimmie Dempsey Jimmie Dempsey October 29, 2025
‘Anarchists illegally took them down,’ and now Portland is putting statues of Lincoln and Roosevelt back up
News

‘Anarchists illegally took them down,’ and now Portland is putting statues of Lincoln and Roosevelt back up

Jimmie Dempsey Jimmie Dempsey October 29, 2025
Florida sets record with 15th execution as man dies for 1998 rape, murder of neighbor
News

Florida sets record with 15th execution as man dies for 1998 rape, murder of neighbor

Jimmie Dempsey Jimmie Dempsey October 29, 2025
Pew Patriots
  • News
  • Tactical
  • Prepping & Survival
  • Videos
  • Guns and Gear
2024 © Pew Patriots. All Rights Reserved.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?