WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told lawmakers Wednesday that the Pentagon was providing options to President Donald Trump as he decides next steps on Iran but would not say whether the military was planning to assist with Israeli strikes, an action that could risk dragging America into a wider war in the Middle East.
Hegseth was on Capitol Hill for the last of a series of combative hearings before lawmakers, who have pressed him on everything from a ban on transgender troops to his use of a Signal chat to share sensitive military plans earlier this year.
In questioning before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Hegseth said "maximum force protection" was being provided for U.S. troops in the Middle East and that it is Trump's decision whether to provide Israel a "bunker buster" bomb to strike at the core of Iran's nuclear program, which would require U.S. pilots flying a B-2 stealth bomber. He would not indicate what the U.S. may do next.
“They should have made a deal. President Trump’s word means something — the world understands that," Hegseth said of Trump pressing Iran to agree to a deal during U.S. talks over Tehran's rapidly developing nuclear program.
"And at the Defense Department, our job is to stand ready and prepared with options. And that’s precisely what we’re doing,” Hegseth said.
Options for Israel
Hegseth said the U.S. military was readying options for Trump, noting that it's his job to provide the president with options and what the ramifications could be.
Trump would not say Wednesday whether he has decided to order a U.S. strike on Iran, a move that Tehran warned anew would be greeted with stiff retaliation.
Israel has struck multiple Iranian nuclear facilities in the past several days, but one of its key uranium production sites, Fordo, requires the deep penetrating munition from the U.S.
"I may do it, I may not do it," Trump told reporters at the White House. "I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do."
Democratic senators urged caution.
Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the committee's ranking Democrat, warned that “the Trump administration must take urgent steps to prevent a wider war.” He said Israel launching the attack on Iran against “against the urging of the president threatens the stability of the entire region and the safety of American stationed there."
The U.S. has shifted significant numbers of refueling tanker and fighter aircraft to position them to be able to respond to the escalating conflict, such as by supporting possible evacuations or conducting airstrikes. Hegseth said this week that was done to protect U.S. personnel and airbases.
Troops being sent to Los Angeles protests
Hegseth's testimony last week in three congressional hearings also was taken over by events, with the Trump administration dispatching the National Guard and 700 active-duty Marines to the protests in Los Angeles against California Gov. Gavin Newsom's wishes.
Hegseth was repeatedly questioned on whether the California deployment was just the beginning of wider use of the military at home.
Hegseth would not directly say whether he had authorized troops to conduct arrests of civilians or use lethal force against them, instead, as he has in past hearings, redirecting the issue to immigration agents facing violent protesters. He would also not answer questions on whether the Pentagon has the authority to expand the deployment of troops to other cities.
“I take it from your answer that you do have contingency plans for the use of military in other cities,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., pressed.
“We have never and will not illegally deploy troops,” Hegseth said. “All have been under existing and well-established authorities.”
Last week, a district court ordered Trump to return control of the guard to Newsom. But the administration quickly appealed, and a three-judge appellate panel temporarily paused that order and appeared inclined to return that power to the president.
Questions on DEI, the renaming of bases
Hegseth has dedicated much of the early part of his tenure to social issues, such as eradicating diversity and equity influence from the military — to the extent that he has pursued restoring base names back to their Confederate origins and renaming warships that were honoring civil rights icons.
For example, Hegseth directed the renaming of a Navy ship that had honored Harvey Milk, a slain gay rights activist who served as a sailor during the Korean War. He also has touted other moves to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs and said a ban on transgender troops was a way to regain the "warrior ethos."
Hegseth was challenged on why the Pentagon has worked to find names similar to those of the Confederate officers the bases originally honored. For example, Virginia's Fort Lee, named for Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, was renamed during the Biden administration to Fort Gregg-Adams, honoring two Black officers — Lt. Gen. Arthur Gregg, the first African American to serve as a three-star, and Lt. Col. Charity Adams, the highest-ranking Black woman of World War II.
The Pentagon announced Monday that the name Lee has been restored, now honoring Army Pvt. Fitz Lee, a Buffalo Soldier and Medal of Honor recipient. The Buffalo Soldiers were an all-Black Army unit.
The surviving members of the Gregg and Adams families were not contacted by Hegseth's office prior to the announcement that their names would be removed, said Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat.
“This was never about the names of the bases they were renamed to,” Hegseth said. “It was about restoring all bases to their original names.”
In the previous hearings — where Hegseth appeared to discuss the Pentagon's spending plan — lawmakers made it clear they were unhappy that he has not provided full details on the administration's first proposed defense budget.
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