Pentagon chief lashes out at US congressional committee member

Published April 29, 2026 Updated April 29, 2026 08:46pm

US War Secretary Pete Hegseth has assailed a member of the House Armed Services Committee for calling the Iran war a quagmire.

US Congressman John Garamendi, who serves on the committee, criticised the Iran war and its effect on the American public during the ongoing hearing and has called the strategy behind it “an outstanding example of incompetence”.

“The way you stain the troops, when you tell them two months in … you should know better … calling this a quagmire,” he asserts.

“Your hatred for President Trump blinds you to the truth of the success of this mission,” the secretary adds, claiming that the US has been at war with Iran for “47 years”.

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