Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s ability to grill Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth during her five minutes of questioning during a Senate Armed Forces Committee hearing was hampered by his raising his voice and loudly talking over her on Thursday afternoon.
The Massachusetts Democrat got under Hegseth’s skin when she cited a Financial Times report that the Pentagon chief’s stockbroker attempted to make a “multimillion-dollar investment” in defense stocks before the invasion of Iran.
After pressing him about growing concerns about insiders at the Pentagon possibly being involved in massive purchases on the stock market related to the war, which he dismissed out of hand, she brought up his personal finances.
“I’m also concerned about recent reporting on your own financial dealings with regard to profiting from the war in Iran,” she began. “The Financial Times reported that your broker tried to buy hundreds of shares in a BlackRock fund invested in defense companies just before the war began. The law clearly prohibits the secretary —.”
“That entire story is false!” Hegseth shouted. “[It] has been from the beginning and was made up out of whole cloth. And anybody that looks at it sees how it was worded from the beginning to make it look like I was involved in something I had nothing to do and never have.”
As Warren tried to speak, he continued to talk over her, insisting, “So any insinuation that I’ve ever profited other than serving this nation, what I give, what you give, what others give. I’m not looking for money. I don’t do it for money. I don’t do it for profit. I don’t do it for stocks. And that’s part of the reason why I’m able to be effective in this job, because no one owns me.”
“No one owns this department, no one owns this president. And we can execute for the American people. And we do,” he added.
“So, I’d like to hear you say, did you, through your broker at Morgan Stanley or otherwise, seek to invest in any defense-related funds right before Trump started the Iran war?” she finally asked.
“I’ll give it to you as a big fat negative,” Hegseth shot back.
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