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During a Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday, Sen Patty Murray (D-WA) got under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s skin just moments after she took a potshot at Donald Trump.Murray’s line of questioning centered around the Pentagon seeking a $1.5 trillion in taxpayer money at a time when American families’ lives are being made worse by the unprovoked war on Iran that has sent gas prices skyrocketing and on a day when it was reported that US inflation jumped 3.8 percent.“Secretary Hegseth, the president has called Medicaid, Medicare, and child care ‘little scams ‘and said "we're fighting wars, we cannot take care of daycare." I'm trying to understand that,” she began. “Is it your position you're asking taxpayers for another half a trillion dollars for the war, that American families should be forced to give up child care and health coverage so that you can have $1.5 trillion for this budget?”The former Fox News personality airily replied, “Senator, that's not my department.”He then added, “I certainly support this, and I also support the president's efforts to find and remove fraud wherever possible in general. We do that in our department as well.”“I'm not talking about fraud. I actually asked whether an American family should lose their healthcare or their child care to pay for this budget. That is literally what the president suggested,” Murray reminded him.‘’The president has proposed a historic $1.5 trillion budget that will defend the nation and confront threats like Iran, which previous presidents allowed to happen, as Senator [Lindsey] Graham (R-SC) pointed out,” he stated. “Previous administrations said they wanted to take care of this problem, and they did not, and he's doing it.”“The question in front of the American people is what are they being asked to give up for this $1.5 trillion,” the Democrat from Washington pushed back. “That's where I was talking about. And last thing, Mr. Secretary, your budget request cuts through Trump's ramblings and really, to me, makes the truth clear, that you and the president don't value families as much as you value defense contractors. You want to increase the war budget, every penny —.”Holding up a cautioning finger, Hegseth interrupted the senator and claimed, “I meet every family at Dover [Air Force Base]. Don't tell me we don't care about families! We sure do, and we take care of them in every way we possibly can.”The nonplussed Murray replied, “I'm asking you about taxpayer dollars that everybody has. We've been to war before. We have asked people to do victory gardens. We've asked them to pay more — you are not doing that. You are taking, asking for $1.5 trillion, which means something else has to be given up. That is what this committee is looking at. You want to increase the war budget a trillion dollars. That is taxpayer money that could be used to feed families or build new affordable homes or wipe out some diseases completely or increase child investments 20 times over. But you are asking us to blow it all on war, and that's not even counting the money that you have spent bombing Iran, or you may still request in a separate supplemental.” - YouTube youtu.be

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) pointed out to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that the U.S. had "not won this war" with Iran despite the rhetoric coming from President Donald Trump's administration.During a Tuesday Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on the war, Shaheen pointed to reports that Iran was receiving intelligence from Russia."Russia is making $4 billion from oil sanctions relief because we've loosened those sanctions," she explained. "As has been testified to. An Iranian Shahed drone costs about 35,000. That's enough money for hundreds of thousands of drones supporting Russia's war in Ukraine and billions for Iran to reconstitute its industrial base.""Senator, we know Russia is a nefarious actor on a lot of levels and account for that," Hegseth insisted. "All evidence to the contrary!" Shaheen interrupted. "We're not accounting for that if we're giving Russia the opportunity to earn $4 billion a month, $20 billion by the end of the year if we leave those sanctions lifted for that time during which they can continue to fund Iran.""The destruction of Iran's defense industrial base has been clear and overwhelming," the defense secretary argued. "What we see is Iran still producing drones," the senator observed. "They're still engaged in this conflict. We have not won this war despite the rhetoric.""If Iran still has almost 50% of their missile capacity and the ability to pull drones," she added, "and still injure our allies and U.S. service members, then we have not won the war."

A relatively subdued Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth changed tactics and talked over a Democratic lawmaker on Tuesday morning as the two argued over Pentagon expenditures with the Donald Trump appointee snapping when one of his claims was called “ridiculous.”Hegseth faced off with Rep. Joe Morelle (R-NY) who asked, “There has been much reported about the president's trip to China and I appreciate again my colleagues raised PACOM [United States Indo-Pacific Command] and its defense. There are weapons on hold the president has not authorized to Taiwan and I wonder if you can give me an update, what’s the status of those weapons sales are at this point?”“I just want to say the primes will be paying for the factories out of their own pocket, not the taxpayers' money which is a sea change, which I think this budget —," Hegseth began.“They are going to get a return on their investment,” Morelle interrupted as Hegseth protested with the New York Democrat continuing, “Yes, I understand, but they are not paying for it out of their pocket and not getting compensated. But anyway, can you answer my question about Taiwan?”“Buildings cost money, and if giving them $2 billion to build a factory, that is taxpayer money. If they are using it out of their own hide, that is $2 billion saved for the American people that then we can appropriate to our munitions we pay for in the future” Hegseth argued before complaining, “I know it is difficult to grasp…”“It’s not difficult to grasp! It is a different way of getting to the same place,” the Democratic lawmaker replied. “You end up paying for it — look, we ought to, they are building things for us, but to suggest that they are making an investment and will not somehow get compensated through sales is just honestly ridiculous.”“We used to pay for the building too and then pay for the sales,” Hegseth shot back as Morelle looked down and shook his head. “Now we are paying for the sales and not the building which is, I think, is a good—.”“And they are not embedding that in the tax write-off in the things they are selling to us, the capitalization, CAPEX they are putting into it they will get back? I don't know why we are arguing about it,” Morelle asked.“They are paying for it,” Hegseth replied. - YouTube youtu.be

Donald Trump's trip to Beijing to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping comes as the leadership of China is buoyed by an internal report that their country has seen its profile in the world rise above the US in large part due to American president.With Reuters reporting that Trump needs some “wins” due to his horrific approval numbers at home, the New York Times is reporting that a “Beijing think tank affiliated with Renmin University published a triumphant report about Mr. Trump’s first year back in office. The report argued that his tariffs, attacks on allies, anti-immigration policies and assaults on the American political establishment had inadvertently strengthened China while weakening the United States. Its title: ‘Thank Trump.’”According to the Times the analysis argued that Trump's erratic decision-making across domestic and foreign policy has inadvertently unified China while fracturing American institutions with the authors characterizing Trump as an "accelerator of American political decay," and the United States teetering on "Latin American-style instability."Trump's hostility toward China, the report argued, functioned as a "reverse booster" that strengthened Beijing's strategic self-reliance. "At this turning point in history," the authors wrote, "what we hear is the heavy and haunting toll of an empire's evening bell."In light of the current state of affairs, the Times is reporting that use of the term "American decline" in official Chinese sources nearly doubled in 2025, citing a Brookings Institution study.Chinese scholars are openly discussing how to exploit Trump's desperation. "Only China can save Trump," said Huang Jing, a professor at Shanghai International Studies University during a late 2025 media event. With midterm elections approaching, Huang argued, Trump needs visible wins such as Chinese purchases of American soybeans, corn, and natural gas that could help Republicans in the red states the GOP relies upon."Since Trump, the United States has become increasingly prone to compromise," Huang reportedly advisedChinese scholars are also strategizing about the possibility of a Republican midterm collapse. According to Wu Xinbo, a leading American studies scholar at Fudan University, if Republicans lose control of the House in November, Trump, handcuffed domestically by a Democratic-controlled House would likely lean into foreign policy legacy-building — opening the door for China's leaders to use that to their advantage, with Wu remarking, "China should make good use of this opportunity."

As the Trump administration tries to fall in the good graces of the first American Pope, an ex-GOP operative is shaking his head at the fact that he employs what he called one big 'anti-Catholic bigot' in particular. "Donald Trump is surrounded by anti-Catholic bigots," ex-GOP political strategist Steve Schmidt said on his podcast on Saturday. "First and foremost by Pete Hegseth." Schmidt and Canadian radio personality Dean Blundell were mocking Secretary of State Marco Rubio's botched visit with Pope Leo earlier in the week when Schmidt turned his ire to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. In particular, he called out how Hegseth had "the audacity, the extremism, the license that the guy feels that, 'I'm going to cancel the Catholic Good Friday service at the Pentagon at the chapel." Schmidt was referring to when Hegseth decided to hold Protestant-only services in early April. "Holy sh—!" Schmidt went on. "Donald Trump has started a fight here with an American who is more powerful than Trump because Trump is unable, through his moral blindness, to see what animates the Pope's power."Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized Pope Leo XIV, calling him "WEAK on crime" and "terrible for Foreign Policy," and accusing him of "endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people." Trump has also falsely claimed that the pope supports Iran having nuclear weapons, a characterization the Vatican has rejected as a misrepresentation of the Church's long-standing opposition to nuclear weapons and commitment to promoting peace.

First Baptist Church senior pastor Robert Jeffress, a strong ally of President Donald Trump, argued on Fox News Saturday that he believed Trump to have a better understanding of biblical teachings than Pope Leo XIV.Jeffress’ claim comes amid Trump’s ongoing feud with the head of the Catholic Church, prompted by Pope Leo’s generic criticism of war. Trump called Pope Leo “weak on crime” and accused him of “catering to the radical left” for what Trump considered to be a condemnation of his war against Iran.“The pope is a good man, he’s sincere in his faith, but he is sincerely wrong when it comes to Iran,” Jeffress told Fox News. “The pope ought to know – and I think he does know – God created both the church and government for two distinct purposes," he said. "The role of the church is to point people to faith in Jesus Christ, but the role of government is to protect citizens from evil-doers.”Jeffress said that he was “in the Oval Office” with Trump three days after the president launched the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran – dubbed Operation Epic Fury – and that it appeared to him as though Trump was better versed in the Bible than the pope himself.“The great irony is it looks like President Trump has a better understanding of what the Bible teaches about the role of government than the pope has!” Jeffress added. “And I’m glad the president hasn’t backed down at all.”Pastor Robert Jeffress: "It looks like President Trump has a better understanding of what the Bible teaches than the Pope" pic.twitter.com/TMSyTmdeTE— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 9, 2026

Trump is reportedly losing patience with his own war that he started in Iran and wants it to end as soon as possible, according to a new report. According to a Friday article by The Atlantic, an outside advisor to Trump said that the president is "bored" with the war. "Others believe he is frustrated at Iran's intransigence," the Atlantic reported. "Trump is reluctant to resume hostilities," aides and advisors told The Atlantic. One advisor told The Atlantic that Trump would like "to tamp down any military action ahead of his trip to Beijing next week." According to The Atlantic, Trump is going to have to wait longer than that to get out of his mess in Iran because "a number of experts have forecast that Iran can withstand pressure from the blockade for months, not weeks." The Atlantic article mentioned a U.S. intelligence assessment for policymakers that suggested "Iran could make it at least three of four more months" with the Strait of Hormuz closed. Trump has already tried to declare a win in Iran, but he's also struggled to uphold ceasefires or the short-lived attempt to escort ships through the backed-up Strait of Hormuz. Advisors and aides told The Atlantic that Trump "is convinced that he can sell any sort of agreement as a win," but as of Friday, "Washington is still waiting for Iran to respond to the latest offering." Part of the problem for Trump is "the U.S. has largely exhausted its list of significant military targets," advisors said to The Atlantic, which added that "to continue to escalate, which is Trump's signature move, he'd have to threaten civilian targets." On top of that, "American officials privately admit that, with Iran's leadership fractured, they're not sure with whom they are negotiating," according to The Atlantic. A pair of outside advisors told The Atlantic that Trump sold the Iran war as "another Venezuela" that would wrap up quickly.

Donald Trump was accused by both MS NOW host and a former high-ranking Pentagon official of a cover-up after a skirmish between US forces and Iran on Thursday.On “Morning Joe,” co-host Joe Scarborough excoriated the president, who dismissed the firefight as a “love tap” — leading retired Rear Admiral John. Kirby to make his bold accusation.“How would the right-wing press, how would the media in general, respond if Iran were attacking U.S. ships and Joe Biden was calling it, quote, ‘love taps’ because he was so desperate to cave to the Iranians?” Scarborough prompted his guest.“I think I would have been flayed,” Kirby, who served as the Pentagon spokesperson under Biden, replied. “I just would have been flayed up there at that podium if that had been President Biden's response to what we're seeing in the ceasefire violations. If he just shrugged it off, there's no way that I would have had any kind of leverage with the press or any kind of credibility up there to continue to defend that kind of approach.”Scarborough asked, “Can you talk a little bit about that? The extent of those damages as far as you know, and again, what would have happened if the Biden administration had tried to cover up those Iranian attacks on Americans?”“I'd say a couple of things on this, Joe, I'm really glad you brought that up, because it also goes to casualties as well,” Kirby replied. “But let me start with where you started: the questions. One, it's a political discussion. It's a political decision. I have no doubt that the folks in uniform and central command, Admiral Cooper, would want to be as transparent as he could, obviously, with protecting operational security and base security and safety. I get that. But I think these are political decisions not to admit that the damage has been more severe than they reported, not to admit that we have suffered more casualties, certainly in terms of wounded, than they're putting out publicly.”“So this is a political decision,” he maintained. “And that happens in war. But it does compound the level of distrust that I think the American people are having about this war right now, and they weren't consulted; they weren't communicated with. They obviously, the polls will tell you they don't support this war. And so to try to minimize that lack of support, they are holding back information, only doing briefings once every 10 or 12 days and with very, very little information and no real questions from real reporters being asked in that briefing room. It's all an effort to, I think, confound the American people with respect to how this war is being fought.” - YouTube youtu.be