At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing that was supposed to be about military readiness and budget priorities, Sen. Elizabeth Warren decided to turn the proceedings into a circus — again. The Massachusetts Democrat, clearly more interested in scoring viral moments than asking serious questions, spent the better part of her time badgering Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth with a series of absurd, bad-faith hypotheticals that sounded more like MSNBC fan fiction than national security oversight.
We knew in advance she was going to pull off these shenanigans because she announced as much on X earlier in the day:
I’m about to question Secretary Hegseth in a Senate hearing—and boy does he have a lot of explaining to do.
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) June 18, 2025
Deploying the military on Trump's so-called political enemies is not what our soldiers signed up for.
Let’s see what Hegseth has to say for himself. pic.twitter.com/8SuisMMYPh
When her moment came, it was immediately clear how silly her effort was. She started asking absurd, loaded questions.
“If the president wanted to deploy Marines to Chicago and New York City like he did in Los Angeles, would you carry out that order even if the local governors and mayors objected?”
She wasn’t seeking clarity; she was laying a rhetorical trap. But Hegseth didn’t bite.
Rather than entertain Warren’s fantasy scenarios, Hegseth reminded her that “President Trump had all the authorities” when it came to protecting federal agents in Los Angeles. “They have the right, as Americans, to be able to do their job without being attacked by mobs,” he said. That wasn’t enough for Warren, who kept interrupting, kept insisting, and kept trying to box him into answering “yes” to increasingly absurd hypotheticals.
She pressed further, asking if he’d send troops to “15 cities” if President Trump said to. “I don’t accept your hypothetical,” Hegseth replied, “because it’s not a real one.” Warren, of course, ignored that and kept going.
At one point, she snarled, “You’re here asking for a trillion dollars and I wanna know how you’re gonna spend it,” as though defending federal property and personnel was some radical use of defense funds. Hegseth, keeping his composure, pivoted back to the real threat: “We’re spending money on securing our southern border, uh, a way the previous administration abandoned,” noting that “21 million illegals” crossed into the country on Biden’s watch.
But Warren wasn’t interested in facts. She was fixated on imaginary troop numbers, asking if there was a limit to how many soldiers could be deployed domestically before it harmed overseas readiness. Hegseth calmly responded, “We’re quite satisfied with our capabilities to defend the homeland and will provide more if and when it’s necessary.” Unsatisfied, Warren continued her tantrum, demanding exact numbers and accusing Hegseth of withholding information.
Sec. Hegseth vs unhinged Pocahontas
— Patri0tsareinContr0l (@Patri0tContr0l) June 18, 2025
Pete swats down every piece of bullshit the self-proclaimed Indian throws at him, sometimes even with a sly grin on his face 😂 pic.twitter.com/FQHvcYQCKv
This wasn’t a serious senator engaging in serious discussion; it was a left-wing ideologue flailing for a gotcha moment against a defense secretary who refused to play along. Warren wanted viral video; what she got was a masterclass in staying on message from Hegseth, who never let her drag him into her fantasy world of “what if Trump sends the Marines to Whole Foods” hypotheticals.
Related: Whoopi’s America-Hating Rant Reaches New Low on ‘The View’
If this is how Senate Democrats plan to treat defense hearings under President Trump’s second term — using taxpayer-funded time to try to manufacture a viral moment to fundraise off of — then maybe we ought to be asking them how seriously they take national security.
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