Article #14254

As defense secretary testified before the House, Trump posted AI-generated image of himself with a weapon and the caption: ‘NO MORE MR. NICE GUY’

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Pete Hegseth denied that the US-Israel war on Iran, which the Pentagon estimates has cost the US at least $25bn, is “a quagmire” and claimed critics of the operation posed a greater threat to the US than Iran itself.

Hegseth came under pressure to set out Washington’s strategy for the conflict as he appeared before the House armed services committee on Wednesday for a marathon hearing alongside Gen Dan Caine, chair of the joint chiefs of staff. The US defense secretary asked lawmakers to approve a $1.5tn budget in military spending – and then described some of them as “the biggest challenge” to the war effort.