Critics lit into US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after he demanded on Tuesday that Congress pass President Donald Trump's plan for a $1.5 trillion military budget.

While testifying before the Senate Appropriations Committee, Hegseth once again made a pitch for the president's massive defense spending proposal, going so far as to say that "not funding [the US Department of Defense] at $1.5 trillion is the greatest threat that our nation faces."

Pete Hegseth: Not funding this department at $1.5 trillion is the greatest threat our nation faces. pic.twitter.com/j2AvDMdpzg
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 21, 2026

In a social media post, economist Dean Baker put Trump's proposed budget into context by noting that the additional requested defense spending "is a bit less than $5,000 per household."

Baker also pointed out that the US already has a massive defense budget, writing that "before Bozo the president came in, we did fine on $860 billion," a total that is larger than the combined military budgets of China, Russia, Germany, India, and the UK.

Some Democratic lawmakers signaled their opposition to the $1.5 trillion Pentagon budget request, which would represent an increase of more than 50% of what the US spent on its military in 2025.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) slammed Hegseth to his face during the hearing and pointed out that the unprecedented defense spending request was coming at a time when many Americans are struggling to afford gasoline and groceries.

"Secretary Hegseth, you are asking for unlimited money for bombs," Gillibrand said, "when people can't feed their families."

GIllibrand: So essentially you're asking for literally $1.5 trillion for a war that President Trump said he already won? Secretary Hegseth, you are asking for unlimited money for bombs when people can't feed their families. pic.twitter.com/MY03ohvj6W
— Molly Ploofkins (@Mollyploofkins) July 21, 2026

In an interview with MeidasTouch chief Washington correspondent Scott MacFarlane, Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.) predicted that Democrats’ response to Hegseth's demand for tens of billions of dollars in supplemental funding for the Iran war on top of the sprawling NDAA “is going to be a ‘hell no.’”

"How many times have we been told this war is over?" Ansari asked. "How many times have we been told that it's not a war?... I'm not giving another dollar to this."

“The response is going to be a ‘Hell No”

Rep Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ) on how Democrats will vote on Pete Hegseth’s request for tens of billions of dollars for war pic.twitter.com/q9IQ9mYVH4
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) July 22, 2026

Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.) announced his opposition to the Hegseth budget in a social media post.

"Trump and Hegseth forced us into a disastrous, illegal war in Iran and now they want $1.5 trillion to keep it going," wrote Carbajal. "The American people want to end forever wars, not to fund them."


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[–] 11 points 3 months ago

Whatever. Schumer will provide exactly the number of votes needed to pass it anyway.

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  • [–] 6 points 3 months ago

    Why not $2 trillion? $3 trillion? The schools in the Middle East aren't going to shoot themselves.

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  • [–] 3 points 3 months ago

    Typical tax-and-spend Republicans.

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  • [–] 3 points 3 months ago

    Pete, please… from the bottom of my heart, fuck off.

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  • [–] 3 points 3 months ago
    48 comments in c/politics@lemmy.world view that post
    [–] 129 points 3 months ago (6 children)

    How about instead the billionaires who’ll profit from these conflicts pay for the military, in whole, instead.

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  • [–] 46 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (3 children)

    Ha ha ha! That's a funny plebe there. Throw him into the piranha pit!

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  • [–] 54 points 3 months ago (2 children)

    Where's my "Taxation is Theft" guys at?

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  • [–] 50 points 3 months ago

    that's something like an extra $650-700 billion a year. here's my contribution: "Fuck off"

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  • [–] 47 points 3 months ago

    Party of fiscal res.......aww fuck it. They are traitors.

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  • [–] 35 points 3 months ago (2 children)

    When the tap runs dry, the currency devalues, the food riots start, and then the military will be deployed on U.S. citizens. I know, I know, “they already are”…we ain’t seen nothing yet.

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  • [–] 9 points 3 months ago (1 child)

    Dont worry. If things get bad we can always call the police. At least thats what the gun grabbers keep sayin.

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  • [–] 8 points 3 months ago

    People against guns hate cops more than 2A people. It’s actually a bit of a problem, vecause 2A people are far too chicken-shit to ever actually stand against tyranny and anti-gun people are out there with nothing but rocks and rage to throw.

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  • [–] 30 points 3 months ago

    My income didn't really change from 2024 to 2025. My accountant is the same, and my business is the same. I paid $4000 more in taxes in 2025.

    I have and continue to qualify for Medicaid in my state.

    The plutocracy is intentionally widening the divide between the wealthy ruling class and the working class by driving the working class into poverty. And when I say working class, that includes white collar workers. It doesn't include people who work as a hobby because their yacht is in the shop and they're bored

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  • [–] 24 points 3 months ago* (2 children)

    "The Republicans want a new Federal Tax"

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  • [–] 87 points 3 months ago (5 children)

    The same pentagon that they want to merge with the Israeli military?

    They want to give them even more money under the guise of “security.” Israel has captured the legislature. They will soon control the Pentagon.

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  • [–] 31 points 3 months ago

    Israel has captured the legislature.

    They're hardly alone. It's been an absolute feeding frenzy of corporate leeches sucking the US Treasury dry ever since Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan began privatizing every state function they could get their hands on.

    The joke of Hegseth's budget request is that it won't actually procure more hardware. He's putting in bids against a cartel that can just raise the prices, even as it forgets how to build the things we're buying. This, even as new entrants to the Pentagon feeding frenzy simply fail to deliver promised material

    It's something of a joke that Israelis don't even want the weapons we send them. They just want the money, so they can buy from their own contractors.

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  • [–] 13 points 3 months ago (1 child)

    That would make sense. The US military may not want to drop live ammo on US citizens. So the Israeli military could step in and do it for them.

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  • [–] 6 points 3 months ago*

    If the US allowed foreign soldiers to invade and kill American citizens I think we'd have a military coup.

    No joke that might actually do it, Americans have never responded well to non-Americans killing Americans. We only let Americans kill Americans at home

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  • [–] 40 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 child)

    This is outrage porn. What's this a distraction of?

    Maybe this? Modelling scout linked to Epstein found dead in Paris

    Edit 2: This is more likely it:

    Hegseth says Iran war has cost $37.5 billion as lawmakers grill him over request for more funding Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended the Trump administration's $80 billion funding request as lawmakers from both parties pushed back.

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  • [–] 19 points 3 months ago

    Go overdose you roided out Nazi bitch

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  • [–] 17 points 3 months ago

    Go sell some stolen oil, you fucking pirate!

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  • [–] 13 points 3 months ago (1 child)

    Tithes from the ultrarich warmongering politicians first. If they can't raise donations to cover their war, we don't have to pay either.

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  • [–] 11 points 3 months ago

    In the end dems will muster up just enough votes for it to pass. Trump will ask for $1.5t and they'll give him $1.8t

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  • [–] 11 points 3 months ago

    Its fucking embarrassing to be from the USA. The only way it could be worse is if I was a blue conservative or a red fascist

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  • [–] 11 points 3 months ago

    looks at my bank account. Bruh not even 1k in mine. What ya gonna take? How about dust bunnies.

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  • [–] 10 points 3 months ago

    That's what happens when you pick your cabinet from the FOX News Entertainment division.

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  • [–] 9 points 3 months ago

    I love complaining about the national debt, we have overspent for years, seems its finally becoming an issue, doubt this would offset any future debt ceiling caps.

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  • [–] 8 points 3 months ago

    Fuck this halfwit wannabe dudebro whose penis is likely smaller than Trump's. I cannot wait until this piece of shit is in prison getting fucked up the ass on an hourly schedule.

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  • [–] 8 points 3 months ago

    Ok, but the alternative is every male in the Pentagon doesn't get testosterone supplements, so we all gotta pitch in.

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  • [–] 15 points 3 months ago

    "Affordability" is just a Chinese hoax the Democrats have chosen to propagate.

    Paying 5 dollars per gallon of gas and sending 5K more to forever wars is a great way to help everyday Americans.

    I hope the redcaps are enjoying the economy they voted for.

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  • [–] 7 points 3 months ago

    I can't wait for this warmonger to get his comeuppance.

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  • [–] 7 points 3 months ago

    Drunk Pete apparently only learned one thing about his job duties and that was how to demand more funding.

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  • [–] 7 points 3 months ago

    Bro is already a degenerate, unrepentant, war monger. Why does he just loot another country at this point? The military should be self funding if you are already fine with being hated by the world.

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  • Coke isn't cheap you know.

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  • [–] 5 points 3 months ago
    [–] 5 points 3 months ago

    Years of trillion dollar budgets, weapons contracts, off books funding, the list goes on.

    Choosing to voluntarily launch a ton of expensive missiles at cheap drones while wasting all of the munitions on an unnecessary war? All the funding for all of this war machine just has disappeared? That's Soviet levels of incompetence.

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  • [–] 3 points 3 months ago

    What about socialized medicine? I can see the MAGA fucknuts paying more taxes to help their drunk friend.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 months ago
    6 comments in c/politics@lemmy.dbzer0.com view that post
    [–] 18 points 3 months ago (2 children)

    Zero normal people care what Pete has to say about anything

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  • [–] 13 points 3 months ago

    I demand he gargles all the balls. Go fuck yourself, Petey.

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  • [–] 9 points 3 months ago

    Didn’t he get busted for expensive lobster dinners on our dime this last year?

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  • [–] 7 points 3 months ago

    Where's Light Yagami when you need him?

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