WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, drew attention for his opening statement and questioning of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth yesterday, where he called attention to Secretary Hegseth’s “poor judgement.” Reports noted that Ranking Member Coons criticized Secretary Hegseth’s leadership on multiple fronts, including his failures to secure appropriate funding for the department, his focus on culture war issues at the expense of military readiness, and his role in the administration’s efforts to weaken our nation’s relationships with NATO allies.
The comments occurred yesterday at a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense hearing on the president’s fiscal year 2026 budget request.
From the Washington Post: Sen. Chris Coons describes ‘chaos and poor judgement’ under Hegseth
Sen. Chris Coons (Delaware), the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee, opened his remarks at a hearing featuring Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth with a list of ways the former Fox News host has exhibited what Coons called “poor judgment” and executed decisions that Coons said are damaging to the country’s military and national security.
“For the very first time,” Coons noted, U.S. troops are “operating under a full-year continuing resolution” — a temporary piece of legislation to keep the government open because the administration and Congress have failed to pass an annual appropriations bill. And that means “tens of billions of dollars less in purchasing power than under the previous administration,” Coons said.
From NBC: Sen. Chris Coons says Hegseth spending too much time 'fighting culture wars'
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., the top Democrat on the subcommittee, criticized staffing shake-ups at the Pentagon and the focus on culture war issues…
He also slammed Hegseth for sharing military information on Signal. “Mishandling important and sensitive information in the middle of an operation by a secretary is unthinkable,” Coons said.
From NOTUS: Congress Wants to Know Where the Department of Defense’s Budget Is
“The department has been unacceptably slow in providing us with the account-level information that we need to draft the defense appropriations bill,” Sen. Susan Collins told Hegseth, echoing a critique her Democratic colleague Sen. Chris Coons lodged earlier….
“We are still waiting for real budget details. This is officially the latest budget submission of the modern era,” Coons said. “This committee, to do its job, wants to work with you on the details.”
From The Daily Beast: Hegseth Blasted by Top Republican Over Trump-Putin Bromance
When it was Senator Chris Coons’ turn to question Hegseth, he also raised concerns, and said it seems Putin has no intention of negotiating.
“It seems to me concerning that the 2026 request eliminates aid to Ukraine entirely,” the Democratic Party senator said.
Coons also took issue with Hegseth’s comments about Europe freeloading. He noted that Article 5 was only invoked once after 9/11, when America’s allies deployed to Afghanistan alongside the U.S. and suffered casualties. He also noted that 50 other countries have delivered support for Ukraine.
From the Las Vegas Sun: Senators critical of Defense Secretary as hearing kicks off
Pete Hegseth met with bipartisan criticism Wednesday as the Senate defense appropriations subcommittee hearing kicked off.
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Delaware, slammed him, saying that “more of your time so far has been spent inside the building on culture wars, rather than outside the building, deterring real ones.”
He criticized Hegseth’s moves to fire the previous chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other “qualified uniformed leaders” and said the Pentagon is worried more” about each other than America’s enemies.
From CBS News [VIDEO]: Coons blasts Hegseth for request to eliminate funding for Ukraine's war against Russia