Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Republican Senator John Kennedy told reporters that Congress and the American public need “some straighter answers” from the Pentagon.
“We need to come up with a way to explain to the American people why we went in and how we’re going to get out, and in doing so, how we’re going to undermine Iran’s ability to get a nuclear weapon,” he said.
Senator Dick Durbin, a Democrat, said Hegseth and Caine did not justify the cost of the war. “They can’t explain how this money is going to be spent.”
Democratic Senator Chris Coons said he was “not at all” surprised by the $37.5 billion figure that Hegseth said the Iran war has cost. “In fact, I suspect it’s higher.”
Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen accused the administration of changing its rationale for the conflict over the last few months, and insisted it had fallen short of each of these possible goals.
GOP Sen. John Hoeven said, “Look, this is something we have to do.”
