Hegseth: “Your hatred for President Trump blinds you”

Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth clashed over the Iran war at a hearing Wednesday, with the lawmaker calling it a "quagmire" caused by "incompetence" and the secretary questioning his loyalty to the U.S.

"This risk of this conflict was foreseeable," Rep. Garamendi said. "I'm certain that the Department of Defense knew that it was likely that in a war with Iran, Iran would create in international economic crisis by blocking the Strait of Hormuz and thus stopping 20% of the world's oil."

The congressman accused the Pentagon of presenting a misleading picture of the war, arguing that while battlefield operations may show tactical gains, the broader strategy lacks coherence and accountability.

"You have misled the public about the progress of the war," the California Democrat said. "While the military has executed this war with tactical success, the strategy has been an outstanding example of incompetence. This war of choice is a political and economic disaster at every level."

Secretary Hegseth responded that the congressman was a prime example of the "reckless, feckless and defeatist" Democrats in Congress that he earlier labeled the U.S.'s "biggest adversary" in the war.

"A quagmire? My generation served in a quagmire in Iraq and Afghanistan. Years and years of nebulous missions and utopian national building that led us to nothing," he said. "The way you stain the troops when you tell them two months in — two months in, congressman. You should know better, shame on you!"

Secretary Hegseth said the war has been an operational success and accused the congressman of "handing propaganda to our enemies."

"Who are you cheering for here? Who are you pulling for?" he asked. "Your hatred for President Trump blinds you to the truth of the success of this mission."

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