Daniel Wolfram
Pete Hegseth is betting on not needing Democratic support
Briefings are crucial to help persuade the House and the Senate to provide more money for the military. But half of the lawmakers are excluded from attending.
Even though the Republican Party controls all three branches of government, bipartisanship is still a sound strategy, especially when you want to brief your colleagues on why the government should be allowed to spend more money on the military.
But the head of the Defense Department has done the opposite. And lawmakers on both sides are frustrated with him.
Shutting Democrats out
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is currently trying to get a record $1.5 trillion military budget from his colleagues on Capitol Hill. Yet he left Democratic lawmakers completely off the guest list for two classified briefings.
Being hyperpartisan is not new in the Trump administration. However, it is not quite an effective strategy when these classified briefings act more like a sales pitch for more military funding.
That has rattled fellow conservatives. Republicans warn that passing huge funding packages requires bipartisan support in the Senate, where every vote counts.
“He calls himself the secretary of war, but ironically, he doesn’t want to go to war and win the argument with nearly half the members of the Senate,” Republican Senator Thom Tillis told Politico. “You got to engage.”
Risky budget strategy
Officials hope to use a special budget rule to bypass Democrats for part of the request. Even so, full passage still hinges on bipartisan cooperation.
Republican Senator Mike Rounds urged Hegseth to include the opposition, though he noted the administration fears potential leaks of classified information.
“The Democrat members need to be brought up to speed,” Rounds said. “But there has to be a clear understanding that the information that’s being provided to them cannot be publicly discussed.”
Other Republicans agreed. “I know that sometimes you want to have smaller groups, but I think it needs to be bipartisan,” Senator Lisa Murkowski told Politico.
Maintaining MAGA habits
Senior Democrats say routine staff check-ins have also stopped after decades of standard practice.
“Not only are they excluding Democrats from classified briefings, they’re also not having the kind of routine briefings with committee staff on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that have been the hallmark since I got here 18 years ago,” Senator Jeanne Shaheen told Politico in a interview.
The Pentagon defended its efforts. Spokesperson Sean Parnell said the department “remains fully committed to working with Congress” and that leaders “regularly engage with lawmakers to discuss the defense budget, readiness, and national security priorities.”
Still, experts warn that shutting out political rivals could leave the Pentagon stranded if leadership changes. Ultimately, the buck stops with Pete Hegseth. If he does not get proper funding to continue the war in Iran, he will have to answer to President Trump.
