Gillibrand, Colleagues Open New Investigation Into Hegseth’s Role In Dismantling Military’s Civilian Harm Prevention Guardrails

Gillibrand, Colleagues Open New Investigation Into Hegseth's Role In Dismantling Military's Civilian Harm Prevention Guardrails

Apr 21, 2026

Hegseth has made deep cuts to funding, personnel for civilian harm mitigation programs

There have reportedly been more than 1,700 civilian deaths, over 30 strikes on schools and health care facilities during President Trump's illegal war in Iran

Today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), along with Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and eight of their Senate colleagues, opened a new investigation into Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's role in weakening civilian harm prevention programs and the catastrophic civilian impacts of President Trump's war in Iran.

"The American people want lower costs, not forever wars that endanger our troops, jeopardize our national security, and raise costs for working families," said Senator Gillibrand. "In gutting our military's ability to prevent harm to civilians, Secretary Hegseth continues to show blatant carelessness and a severe lack of the moral fitness his position demands. I will not stop fighting until this reckless war has ended and the Trump administration fully restores the programs and public servants that mitigate civilian harm."

Since the start of President Trump's illegal war in Iran, attacks on civilian infrastructure have reportedly led to more than 1,700 civilian deaths, along with strikes on more than 20 schools and a dozen health care facilities.

"We are concerned that these were all preventable tragedies…This is a concerning pattern and raises questions about whether the administration is upholding international law and the laws of war," the senators wrote in a letter to Hegseth. The senators called on DoD to answer questions about reported attacks on two separate elementary schools in Iran that killed more than 170 people, most of them children.

Prior to the war, Secretary Hegseth made deep cuts to the military's civilian harm mitigation and response (CHMR) programs, fired personnel at DoD's Civilian Protection Center of Excellence, and slashed CHMR staff at the U.S. combatant commands by over 90 percent. All the cuts were reportedly made over the objections of veterans organizations and top military officials, including admirals, generals, and members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

"We are also concerned that your leadership is further harming the credibility of our armed forces, exacerbating threats to civilians and U.S. servicemembers alike," the senators wrote.

Secretary Hegseth has mocked "stupid rules of engagement" and threatened to offer "no quarter, no mercy for our enemies" in Iran, which would violate international law and the military's own Law of War Manual.

"These statements not only harm civilians and undermine established standards, but also endanger U.S. servicemembers with greater risk of reciprocation and erode good order and discipline," the senators warned.

Senior military officials in the Trump administration agree that mitigating civilian harm is vital for national security. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby wrote to Congress that, "it is in the U.S. national interest, as well as morally right, to seek to reduce civilian harm to the degree possible." During his confirmation, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine said that combatant commanders who incorporated CHMR personnel into planning "see positive impacts from the program."

"Your attempts to gut DoD's civilian harm institutions contradicts more than a decade of bipartisan consensus and DoD-led reforms, initiated during the first Trump administration," the senators noted.

"The importance of protecting civilian life to the greatest extent possible is central to effective military operations and differentiates the United States from our adversaries…We call on the administration to immediately end the war in Iran, fully restore Congressionally authorized programs and staffing to mitigate civilian harm," the senators concluded.

The lawmakers asked Hegseth to explain the cuts to civilian harm programs and explain what steps the Pentagon is taking to protect civilian lives in Iran by May 4, 2026.

Senators Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Tina Smith (D-MN), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), and Peter Welch (D-VT) joined in signing the letter.

The full text of the letter can be found here.

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