In House Appropriations Committee Ranking Democratic Member Rosa DeLauro, Pete Hegseth is outranked and out of excuses.
DeLauro refused to be gaslighted by the Secretary of Defense and scolded Hegseth for not supplying any actual data to the committee.
Hegseth, like every Trump official, always starts by blaming the Biden administration for their failings, but by the end of her short questioning, Hegseth was putty in her hands.
DELAURO: So do we have a plan, do you have a plan, for making the necessary investments to ramp up submarine production to the necessary levels?
And what is that plan?
HEGSETH: Ma'am, first of all I want to thank this committee for the flexibility alongside FY25 and the continued resolution.
DELAURO: Well, I would hope you would thank this committee for the funding that it has made. We have made a serious investment, so your first statement is inaccurate.
We have focused squarely on submarines and we now want to know where that is going and what your plan is for the continued advancements to meet production levels and make sure that that is an area that is covered for our national security.
HEGSETH: Ma'am, I fully acknowledge the investment this committee has made in shipbuilding and the challenges our department under the previous administration squandered a lot of that by not investing properly.
DELAURO: Please, I want your plan! I have had difficulty with the prior administration and I don't mind calling them out.
What is your plan for the future? Can we get that in writing and on paper so that we know where you are going? Because we don't have anything today. We have zip, nada and knowing where you are going.You could talk percentages, you could talk about whatever you want, but unless this committee sees dollars and cents and where you are going and what your plan is, then we may reconsider what you need to do to go forward.
Give us the details.
HEGSETH: Congresswoman, we have the details and we will provide them for you.
Why didn't Hegseth supply the information prior to the hearing?
Because he doesn't have any.
This is classic "didn't do homework" behavior, and it's happening throughout the Trump administration.
It may be pure incompetence, or it may be a smash and grab. Maybe both?
