U.S. Defence Secretary Hegseth faces Congress for first time since Signal leaks, Marine deployment to Los Angeles

U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth faces tough questions from Congress on military spending and security issues in hearings.

U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth is expected to field sharp questions from members of Congress about his tumultuous start as Pentagon chief, including his sharing of sensitive military details over a Signal chat, in three separate Capitol Hill hearings beginning Tuesday (June 10, 2025).

Lawmakers also have made it clear they are unhappy that Mr. Hegseth has not provided details on the administration's first proposed defence budget, which President Donald Trump has said would total $1 trillion, a significant increase over the current spending level of more than $800 billion.

It will be lawmakers' first chance to ask Mr. Hegseth about a myriad of other controversial spending by the Pentagon, including plans to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on security upgrades to turn a Qatari jet into Air Force One and to pour as much as $45 million into a parade recently added to the Army's 250th birthday bash, which happens to coincide with Mr. Trump's birthday on Saturday.

Lawmakers may quiz Mr. Hegseth on the latest searing images coming out of the immigration raid protests in Los Angeles. Mr. Hegseth has deployed about 700 active-duty Marines to assist more than 4,100 National Guard troops in protecting federal buildings and personnel. But there are questions about what the troops will have to do and how much it will all cost.

Under the Posse Comitatus Act, troops are prohibited from policing U.S. citizens on American soil. Invoking the Insurrection Act, which allows troops to do that, is incredibly rare, and it's not clear if Mr. Trump plans to do it.

The commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. Eric Smith, will be on Capitol Hill testifying at a separate budget hearing at the same time as Mr. Hegseth and is likely to face similar questions.

Mr. Hegseth has spent vast amounts of time during his first five months in office promoting the social changes he's making at the Pentagon. He's been far less visible in the administration's more critical international security crises and negotiations involving Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Gaza and Iran.