Pete Hegseth accused Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and his peers of having “Trump Derangement Syndrome” while being grilled over funding for the Iran War.
On Tuesday, the secretary of defense appeared before the Senate Appropriations Committee to address the White House’s supplemental funding request for the ongoing military operation in the Middle East. Hegseth was grilled at-length by lawmakers, with many calling into question his leadership and whether the Trump administration had a strategy to win the Iran War.
“If you listen to my comments, you would have heard me say how amazing our fighters are,” Peters said before Hegseth accused the senator of throwing the word “failure” around.
“I will tell you how I used the word failure, ’cause I used the word failure to their leaders,” Peters continued. “You, sir, are the failure. Not the men and women who are on that frontline. Not the men and women who hold up their honor with distinction. But if there’s a lack of a winning strategy, they’re in harm’s way, their leaders have failed them. And that’s what’s happening … You don’t have a strategy. You don’t have a long-term plan to win this war. Win this war!”
As Peters repeatedly asked Hegseth when he planned to “show leadership,” the secretary of defense hit back, suggesting the Democrats’ disapproval of the funding request was politically motivated.
“Why don’t you show some leadership and stand up for your fellow Democrats, who won’t fund the troops,” he snapped. “Who stand and play partisan politics, while you don’t give us the money. You want to stand up here and talk about the troops? You won’t show any political courage to actually fund our department, because you have Trump Derangement Syndrome and can’t actually commit to anything meaningful.”
He added: “So, I put this on you senator.”
Peters responded by fighting back a laugh and reiterating that his objection “was not a question of money,” but “a question of leadership.”
Peters: You, sir, are the failure… Hegseth: You have Trump Derangement Syndrome. pic.twitter.com/s1AvsYRR8g
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 21, 2026
Watch the heated exchange above.
This was not the only tense moment to occur during Hegseth’s testimony, as the secretary of defense also found himself sparring with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).
“You are asking for unlimited money for bombs when people can’t feed their families,” Gillibrand said. “And I don’t know how this administration intends to defend those decisions to the American people.”
Hegseth defended that he was looking for “the right bombs at the right time,” claiming that the funding request was a “generational investment.”
“The reason why they’re so upset with you and this administration is because the words you have used in the past don’t add up. About Iran specifically, you said that we had ‘obliterated’ Iran’s ability to create nuclear weapons. The president made the same claim. Yet, eight months later in February 2026, the president launched an active war, claiming Iran was within of two weeks of having a weapon.”
She added: “So, when you say two very different things, the American people don’t know who to believe or what to believe. They just know they can’t afford their healthcare, they can’t afford their food, they can’t afford housing and our farmers are continuing to suffer.”
Gillibrand then asked Hegseth point-blank to answer “Which is true: Was it obliterated or wasn’t it? What’s the status?”
GIllibrand: Was it obliterated or wasn’t it? Hegseth: The nuclear sites were obliterated, but Iranians foolishly continued to attempt to pursue nuclear capabilities pic.twitter.com/sVOBp5pYvu
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 21, 2026
Per Hegseth, Iran’s nuclear sites were “obliterated,” but that the country had “foolishly continued to attempt to pursue nuclear capabilities.”
Watch their exchange above.
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