US Senate: ‘Save The Lecture’: Pete Hegseth Explodes, Turns Off Mic During Fiery Testimony
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth clashed repeatedly with Democratic senators during a tense Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on June 18, 2025, reviewing the Pentagon’s fiscal year 2026 budget request. The hearing grew heated as Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) pressed Hegseth on the military’s authority to detain or arrest protesters, demanding, “Did you authorize them to detain or arrest? Be a man.” Hegseth insisted there was “zero indication” that troops were ordered to shoot protesters, but repeatedly declined to answer whether force could be used against unarmed civilians. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) also unloaded on Hegseth, criticizing the costly U.S. operation against the Houthis in Yemen, his use of Signal to share classified operational details, mounting turnover among Pentagon leadership, and the deployment of troops to Los Angeles. Amid the escalating exchanges, Hegseth grew visibly frustrated — at one point cutting off his microphone mid-testimony, a moment that quickly went viral online.
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