29Apr
WASHINGTON, D.C. — This week, Secretary Pete Hegseth testified before Congress, advocating for an increased, $1.5 trillion budget for the Department of War, as the unauthorized conflict in Iran reaches its 60-day mark. Throughout the hearings, Hegseth—alongside Pentagon Comptroller Jay Hurst—acknowledged that the war has already cost the American people an estimated $25 billion. Throughout the week, Common Defense took to X (formerly Twitter) to emphasize their concerns around, and reiterate condemnation for Hegseth and the broader Trump administration’s handling of the war, raising serious concerns about their strategy, their transparency with the public, and the lack of a clear exit plan.
In response, Naved Shah, Political Director of Common Defense, said: “This administration is siphoning money to fuel a war that more than half of Americans don’t support. In his testimony, Secretary Hegseth refused to level with the American people about how long this will last. His continued attempts at deflection and blatant disregard for the truth is to be expected from someone with no real high level leadership experience. As Hegseth treats his job like a vanity project, our troops on the ground are facing real, and growing danger. From lavish dinners to joy rides in military helicopters with his friends, Secretary Hegseth could not make his lack of qualification for this role more apparent. Congress must step in and exercise its constitutional authority instead of writing a blank check to put more troops at risk. Lawmakers need to decide: perpetuate another forever war, or bring our troops home.”
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Common Defense Civic Engagement (501c4) (CDCE) is a grassroots, veteran-led organization that was founded in 2016. We empower veterans to stand up for our communities against the rising tide of racism, hate, and violence, to organize against the entrenched powers that have rigged our economy, and to champion an equitable and representative democracy, where “liberty and justice” truly is for all. For too long, politicians from both political parties have attempted to use veterans as unwilling political props, and Common Defense serves as a home for veterans to organize and speak for themselves and support the candidates who truly share our values.