Duckworth Grills Hegseth, Caine Over Lack of Strategy in Trump’s Illegal, Spiraling War of Choice

May 01, 2026 Duckworth Grills Hegseth, Caine Over Lack of Strategy in Trump’s Illegal, Spiraling War of Choice [WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today pressed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Chairman to the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine on the Administration’s horrific lack of strategy and continued recklessness in Donald Trump’s unjustified war of choice in Iran that has resulted in higher costs, left 14 servicemembers dead and hundreds more wounded. During the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) hearing, Duckworth grilled Hegseth and Caine for creating and bungling the crisis of Iran’s entirely predictable closure of the Strait of Hormuz—which has raised the average price of a gallon of gas for American families by more than a dollar. Video of the Senator’s full remarks can be found on her YouTube . “I have no doubt that competent planners in the Pentagon raised their concerns about a quagmire in the Strait to leadership—the question is why their leadership did not pay attention to this sound advice,” said Duckworth. “Hubris is not strategy. In war, it can cost lives. Even if the Strait re-opens, this Administration has created a new, less safe world by bungling this crisis. Iran has now learned they can charge $1 million per ship, creating a new funding line for their malicious activity against Americans for decades to come.” The Senator also highlighted that this Administration’s incompetent strategic planning affects our military’s readiness for any other crises or conflicts, especially in the Indo-Pacific. “There are very real ways that a crisis in any one of dozens of flashpoints in the Pacific could be devastating for our servicemembers, Americans in the region and our economy—and yet, this Administration keeps diminishing DoD’s abilities to prepare for them,” continued Duckworth. “As many as one-third of the assets in the Middle East right now are originally meant to be in the Pacific. This war of choice is draining our military resources, and we need leaders who will ensure our warfighters only fight when they have to—not because of one man’s whims and a lack of bravery among the ‘yes men’ he surrounds himself with.” Duckworth has been an outspoken critic of Trump’s illegal, needless war in Iran since it began. She is one of the Senate Six —the original group of Senators who have been forcing votes on War Powers Resolutions that would cease hostilities in Iran, which Republicans have shamefully blocked now seven times. Ahead of the Senate’s vote on her own War Powers resolution two weeks ago, Duckworth gave impassioned remarks drawing on her personal experience serving in our nation’s last war of choice in the Middle East, imploring Republicans to remember their oaths and vote to help rein in this unhinged President—which they did not. -30- Print Tweet Previous Article