Schatz Presses Hegseth On Administration’s Iran War Planning Amid Scramble To Relocate Weapons Systems, Evacuate Personnel After War Started

WASHINGTON - During a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai'i) pressed U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on the Trump administration's preparedness for the Iran war given the scramble to move weapons systems from the Indo-Pacific and evacuate American personnel in the region after the war started. President Trump previously said the administration was "shocked" by Iran's response.

Senator Schatz, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, asked Secretary Hegseth, "There are data points that seem to indicate that we did not see all of this coming. Parts of the THAAD and Patriot systems in South Korea were moved to the Middle East - this is after the [start of the] war. There was a rush to evacuate United States personnel. And Iran struck more than 200 structures and equipment at 16 U.S. sites. So Secretary, can you just reassure us that this was all foreseen and part of the plan? Or can you tell us whether there were any surprises here?"

Secretary Hegseth responded, "I can reassure you that it was all accounted for."

"I'm wondering why the president of the United States - our commander-in-chief - said that he was shocked that Iran would retaliate by striking other countries in the region. This was not just foreseeable, it was foreseen," said Senator Schatz. "I'm just trying to figure out - for those of us on the left and the right - who are wary of regime change war, who are wary of happy talk, who have learned through terrible experience the cost of this kind of adventurism - why is this any different?"

Video of Senator Schatz's exchange with Secretary Hegseth is available here.

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