Even Republicans are shocked: The unusual conduct of the Secretary of Defense in Congress
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has decided to exclude Democratic members of Congress from classified briefings, a move that could jeopardize the approval of the defense budget.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is excluding Democratic members of Congress from briefings and meetings on Capitol Hill. The move has drawn harsh criticism even from Republican lawmakers, particularly as Hegseth depends on Democratic support to pass the massive defense budget he is currently promoting.
In recent months, Hegseth has been pushing for a new defense budget totaling an unprecedented 1.5 trillion dollars. Despite the need for bipartisan cooperation, he has chosen to exclude members of the Democratic Party from his closed-door meetings. As reported by Politico overnight between Wednesday and Thursday, even Republican members of Congress are criticizing this conduct, believing it is counterproductive to his goals.
According to reports, the Secretary of Defense visited Capitol Hill at least twice in recent weeks to present his budget plan, but barred Democrats from attending. Many lawmakers view this as part of a concerning pattern where the administration withholds information from Congress, specifically from members of the opposition party.
"He calls himself the Secretary of War, but ironically, he doesn't want to go to war and win an argument with nearly half of the Senate members. You have to be in contact with them," said Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina.
Another Republican congressman on the Armed Services Committee told Politico that administration officials are merely "preaching to the choir" by presenting their arguments only to fellow Republicans, adding: "This is a briefing that should be given to all 100 senators."
Excluding the Democrats could cost Hegseth dearly. The party has pledged to oppose funding bills, and the administration requires their support to pass the lion's share of the budget. It has also been reported that Hegseth and other senior officials in the Trump administration are pressuring Republicans to utilize special procedures to bypass Democrats and pass portions of the budget.
Republican lawmakers have called on the White House to change course. Senator Mike Rounds of South Dakota stated that he discussed the issue with security officials and made it clear that he opposes excluding the opposition party. The administration has expressed concerns that information shared with Democrats could leak to the media.
Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat from New Hampshire and the senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, noted that the issue extends beyond recent meetings: "Not only are they excluding Democrats from classified briefings, they are also not holding the routine briefings at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which have been the norm since I arrived here 18 years ago." A former security official described the exclusion of Democrats as a blatant violation of long-standing norms on Capitol Hill.
