'Stop! Stop!' Hegseth accused of 'lying' about Iran war in fiery hearing clash

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth got in a fiery exchange during a congressional hearing on Wednesday with a lawmaker who accused him of lying about the number of military service members injured since the Iran war started.

Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY), a West Point graduate and Iraq war combat veteran, spoke to Hegseth at the House Armed Services Committee hearing about the wounded soldiers and what they described from the attack on March 1 at Port Shuaiba in Kuwait that left six Americans dead and more than 30 wounded.

"Before the war started, there was clear intelligence that was high on Iran's target list," Ryan said. "Internal analysis that said the site was indefensible from aerial attack and should not be used. Yet you sent our soldiers from 103rd sustainment command there anyway. Is that true or false? True or false? Straightforward question."

Hegseth got defensive with Ryan over the question.

"Are you going to give me a chance to answer or just play 'gotcha?'" Hegseth said.

Ryan continued and pressed Hegseth to respond to him.

"Let's talk about what defenses they had prior to the attack," Ryan said. "Officers on the ground knew our troops were vulnerable. In fact, they requested additional force protection. Did they receive it?"

Hegseth said the soldiers did have additional security resources — Ryan said they did not.

"In fact, when asked to describe the base's defense, one survivor who's come forward from the unit said, 'I mean, I would put it in the none category from a drone defense capability. None,'" Ryan said.

"So let's be clear. No counter-drone capabilities, no counter-rocket systems, no counter-mortar or counter-artillery, not even the basic overhead protection that you and I had 20 years ago in Iraq. And now six of our soldiers are dead," Ryan said. "The next day, you downplayed the attack. You said it was a squirter that squeaked through fortified defenses. But since then, thankfully, brave survivors have come forward to set the record straight. One of our surviving soldiers told CBS, 'painting a picture that one squeaked through is a falsehood.' Another said the unit was, 'unprepared to provide any defense for itself. It was not a fortified position.' Another survivor said the building's protection was about as weak as one gets. Secretary Hegseth, that is obviously in direct contradiction to what you said from the Pentagon podium the next day. So are you saying that these soldiers, our soldiers who survived this horrific attack, are lying?"

Hegseth claimed the Pentagon had set a "maximum defensive posture," and Ryan pushed back, interjecting.

"Can I speak or are you just going to monologue falsehoods all over the place?" Hegseth said.

"It's not a falsehood," Ryan said.

The two got into a heated back-and-forth over the questions.

"I'm reclaiming my time," Ryan said. "Stop! Stop! I'm reclaiming my time on the behalf of these survivors."

"Just because you yelled doesn't make you right," Hegseth quipped.

Ryan demanded Hegseth to resign — just as he had said a year ago.

"I'm not playing games," Ryan said. "I want to finish. With one more quote from a survivor of the attack and this on the record. Telling the truth is important and we're not going to learn from these mistakes if we pretend these mistakes didn't happen, Secretary Hegseth, those soldiers told the truth. Those soldiers are braver than you are. They are asking for accountability. They deserve accountability. And I'm asking for the same, starting with you."