U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sparred during a contentious congressional hearing Wednesday over accounts that a U.S. command post in Kuwait was unprepared for an Iranian drone attack that killed six troops and injured dozens more.
When Deluzio asked Hegseth whether there was anything else that could have been done to safeguard the post from the attack on the first day of the conflict, the secretary said, “As a department, we did every conceivable thing at my level and every echelon down to ensure the maximum force protection for our troops.”
Deluzio, D-Fox Chapel, and U.S. Rep. Pat Ryan, D-N.Y., questioned Hegseth during the House Armed Services Committee hearing about CBS News reports quoting unnamed soldiers at the base who said their unit was “unprepared to provide any defense for itself” and the base “was not a fortified position.”
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, a former Republican candidate in the congressional district Deluzio represents, addressed the claims on X by saying “every possible measure has been taken to safeguard our troops — at every level.”
“I’m struggling to understand how your answer and your spokesman’s answer is that every possible measure was taken,” Deluzio said during the congressional hearing, claiming there was “no protection for overhead strikes.”
Regarding the conflicting accounts, Deluzio asked Hegseth, “Are you calling these guys (soldiers who spoke with CBS News) liars?”
“I’m not calling our troops liars,” Hegseth said. “All I know is that we took every effort possible at the commencement of this campaign to ensure the defense of our troops.”
.@RepDeluzio: "There is not a single additional thing you could have done to protect those troops who are now wounded, six of whom are dead?"
— CSPAN (@cspan) April 29, 2026
Secretary Hegseth: "We did every conceivable thing…to ensure the maximum force protection for our troops." pic.twitter.com/Gnw2gMkq3O
After Deluzio continued pressing the issue, Hegseth pointed at Deluzio and Ryan and said, “You and you are disparaging me that I don’t care about the passing of our troops. That’s disparaging and smearing in every way. Nobody cares more about the fate of our troops.”
Deluzio also questioned Hegseth about a comment he made during a March news conference in which he said, “We will keep pushing, keep advancing, no quarter, no mercy for our enemies.”
“Is that your guidance, that you expect our troops in harm’s way if there’s a foreign enemy surrendering and laying down their arms, they’re supposed to provide no quarter and kill them?” Deluzio asked.
“My commanders know exactly what the guidance is with each and every mission. And they know every tool at their disposal,” Hegseth said.
“Secretary, in refusing to answer it, I think you speak volumes,” Deluzio, a former Navy officer, responded. “I think that’s a dangerous thing. We all know the expectations. We know the law of war. We know what is lawful. I’d expect our commanders to know that as well.”
