Pete Hegseth Goes OFF on McConnell in WILD Hearing - YOU HEARD ME
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth went toe-to-toe with Kentucky GOP Sen. Mitch McConnell during a tense Senate Appropriations hearing Tuesday.
The back-and-forth heated up quickly after McConnell asked about the Trump administration’s plans to fund key parts of the Pentagon’s $1.5 billion budget request.
McConnell snidely accused Trump of alienating U.S. allies amid several major world conflicts.
McConnell is also on the verge of being replaced in the Senate by a pro-Trump ally.
McConnell objected to putting crucial Pentagon programs – such as the Golden Dome missile defense system, munitions, the F-35 fighter jet, and drone production – in a reconciliation bill separate from the annual defense appropriations bill.
“Political realities will not always allow a party-line budget reconciliation, and if the department’s top priorities aren’t built into annual appropriations, we’re actually taking a big risk,” McConnell said.
McConnell added, “These key lines of effort only work if we put them on solid fiscal footing.”
The Trump administration intends to finance its $1.1 trillion Pentagon budget for fiscal year 2027 with a regular appropriations request and an additional $350 billion through reconciliation, a mechanism that enables the current Republican majority to override any Democratic objections.
But McConnell said that approach is shaky given that the GOP could lose its majority in the November elections.
Other Republicans have also been skeptical about their ability to pass a third budget reconciliation package this autumn after using their second opportunity with the procedure on a narrowly tailored bill to fund immigration enforcement.
House appropriators highlighted similar worries about the structure of the Pentagon budget earlier Tuesday when Hegseth sat for several hours, testifying before the members.
McConnell also slammed President Trump for alienating longstanding U.S. friends, including for NATO and protecting Ukraine.
Trump earlier this month declared he would recall 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany and promised further measures in an ongoing disagreement with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
The president has repeatedly scolded U.S. partners for failing to join the fight in Iran or help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, labeling the countries “cowards” and hinting at threats to take Washington out of the NATO military alliance.
Strained relationships with U.S. partners and allies “only serves our adversaries’ interests and limits our capacity and deterrent power globally,” McConnell told Hegseth.
“I want to hear about the future of capacity building with committed allies and partners,” he added.
McConnell has been a major advocate for the $400 million Congress set aside for Ukraine at the start of the year, calling out the Pentagon for withholding the funds in an April 28 editorial.
“I want to underscore this is not charity. When our partners are capable, deterrence is stronger, and the risk to our own service members is lower,” McConnell said Tuesday.
“Wars in Ukraine and the Middle East clearly show we that have things to learn from our friends.”
WATCH:
The top three Republican candidates running to replace McConnell took the stage last month at the Henry Clay event center in downtown Louisville for the first Republican primary debate.
McConnell, a Republican who has represented Kentucky in the U.S. Senate since 1985, announced earlier this year that he won’t seek reelection in 2026 after more than 40 years in office, creating the first open Senate seat in the state in years.
Rep. Andy Barr, former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron and businessman Nate Morris are facing off in the Republican primary, which is among this year’s most competitive.
The GOP hopefuls all support President Donald Trump, hoping to land his endorsement in a state that Trump overwhelmingly carried in the past three presidential elections.
The debate offered voters an opportunity to hear the candidates discuss their positions on key issues and outline their priorities as the Republican primary campaign ramps up.
Nearly 150,000 California Mail Ballots Rejected In Primary
California election officials are examining why nearly 150,000 mail-in ballots were rejected during the state’s June primary, with late-arriving ballots accounting for most of the increase.
The higher rejection rate comes despite years of election law changes designed to make voting more accessible and ensure more ballots are ultimately counted.
According to data compiled by the California Secretary of State’s office, 148,241 mail-in ballots were rejected during the June primary, representing 1.73% of all mail ballots returned.
That marks an increase from the 2024 primary, when 108,982 ballots were rejected, or 1.56% of all mail ballots cast.
The largest reason for rejection was ballots arriving too late to qualify under California law.
State data shows that 93,479 ballots were rejected because they failed to meet the state’s deadline requirements.
California allows mail ballots to arrive up to seven days after Election Day, provided they are postmarked on or before Election Day.
Voting experts believe many of the rejected ballots received postmarks dated after Election Day, making them ineligible to be counted even if they arrived within the seven-day grace period.
Kim Alexander, president of the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation, said the timing of postal processing appears to be a significant concern.
“Ballots rejected due to lateness are caused primarily to being postmarked too late to count, not because they arrived too late to count,” Alexander said.
Election experts have questioned whether recent operational changes within the U.S. Postal Service may be contributing to delayed postmarks.
Earlier this year, a group of mostly Democratic U.S. senators wrote to the Postal Service expressing concern that mail-processing changes could affect ballot handling during federal elections.
Updated Postal Service procedures mean postmarks may reflect when mail is processed at regional facilities rather than when it first enters the mail system.
Because processing centers have been consolidated in some areas, election officials have warned that postmark timing could be affected.
Before the June primary, California election officials encouraged voters to mail ballots as early as possible because of potential postal delays.
The June election also featured a highly competitive race for governor, which some experts believe encouraged many voters to wait until the final days before casting ballots.
In addition to late-arriving ballots, approximately 44,000 ballots were rejected because election officials determined the voter’s signature did not match the signature on file.
Another 8,300 ballots were rejected because the return envelope did not contain a signature.
State records also show that 743 ballots were rejected because those voters had already cast another ballot.
Other rejected ballots involved missing ballots inside return envelopes or multiple ballots submitted in a single envelope.
The highest rejection rate in the state occurred in Tulare County, where 3.52% of returned mail ballots were rejected.
Alpine County and Merced County followed closely, each recording rejection rates of 3.36%.
California has frequently faced criticism for taking weeks to complete vote counting after major elections, largely because state law permits ballots meeting certain requirements to continue arriving after Election Day.
Following the June primary, President Donald Trump again criticized California’s election system, while the Department of Justice opened an investigation into election administration in Los Angeles County.
Election experts emphasize that the increase in rejected ballots should not be interpreted as evidence of widespread voter fraud.
A 2025 report by the Brookings Institution found documented cases of mail ballot fraud remained extremely rare, estimating roughly four cases for every 10 million mail ballots cast, The Associated Press reported.
State officials have not identified evidence of widespread fraud connected to the June primary, but the increase in rejected ballots is expected to receive additional scrutiny as election administrators evaluate whether changes in postal operations, voter behavior or election procedures contributed to the higher rejection rate.
