Pete Hegseth heckled as Pentagon hearing stormed by protesters – ‘War criminal’ | World | News
Pete Hegseth was interrupted by protesters heckling “war criminal!” as he attended a Pentagon hearing on Thursday (April 30). The US Defense Secretary was testifying for the second day before congressional leaders as the Trump administration official faces heightened scrutiny over the Iran war and the Pentagon’s budget.
On Thursday, Mr Hegseth was speaking to the Senate Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill when a protester in the room interjected, yelling at him during his opening statement.
“You’re a war criminal. You should be arrested. What you’re doing is despicable!” the heckler could be heard saying. He was also armed with a handwritten sign. The person, whose name is not immediately known, but was reportedly wearing a pink shirt, was removed from the hearing by Capitol Police.
Several other people dressed in similar pink shirts also left the hearing room. Sen Roger Wicker, the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, continued the hearing by saying he respected First Amendment rights to free speech, but that anyone who disrupts the hearing would be removed.
Mr Hegseth was defending the ongoing military operation in Iran and the Pentagon’s $1.5trillion (£1.1trillion) budget request at the time of the interruption.
Mr Wicker began the hearing by noting that the US is in the most dangerous security environment since World War 2. He also praised Donald Trump’s use of the military. Through the war against Iran, the US President “has worked to remove the regime’s conventional military capabilities and force it back to the table for a permanent solution,” he said.
He also praised Mr Trump’s 2027 budget proposal, saying: “This $1.5 trillion request is chock full of important programs and initiatives that are absolutely necessary to secure American interest in the 21st century.”
On Tuesday (April 28), Mr Hegseth battled with Democrats during a nearly six-hour House Armed Services Committee hearing, where he faced intense questioning over the war’s costs in money, lives and diminishing stockpiles of critical weapons.
The Senate committee is set to hear a similar presentation on the Trump administration’s 2027 military budget proposal, which would boost defence spending to a historic $1.5 trillion. Mr Hegseth and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen Dan Caine, are expected to again stress the need for more drones, missile defence systems and warships.
They are now also likely to face tough questions about American troop levels in Europe after Mr Trump levelled a new threat against NATO ally Germany on Wednesday, suggesting he could soon reduce the US military presence in the country as he feuds with Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the Iran war.
