Is it safe to eat lettuce? How the parasite outbreak got so confusing.
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Good morning.
What happened at Secretary Hegseth’s Capitol Hill hearing about $67 billion for the Iran war?
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reveals how much has been spent on the Iran war so far and asks Congress for billions more to keep it going. Politico breaks down his day on the Hill.
There's just a lot of confusion over how much the war has cost and what the Defense Department is asking for.
As experts search for the source of a dreaded parasite, The Washington Post tells us whether we can eat lettuce. And some good news for heavy coffee drinkers. It's Wednesday, July 22nd. I'm Gideon Resnick in for Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faced some bipartisan scrutiny yesterday as he sought more money for a war that many lawmakers remain skeptical of. During an appearance on Capitol Hill, Hegseth revealed that the U.S. had spent $37.5 billion on the war up to this point, though critics suggested that was an undercount. For that sum, Hegseth argued, Iran had been dramatically weakened.
The amount of damage that we've done to them over the course of these series of operations has put them in the worst place they've ever been.
Why do senators question the Pentagon’s accounting of war spending and existing funds?
This was Hegseth's first appearance in a congressional hearing since an interim peace deal collapsed between Iran and the U.S. And it comes as four American service members have been killed in recent days in a war that's ballooning in cost. Hegseth was there to ask for another $67 billion to cover ongoing costs of the conflict. That led some, like Democratic Senator Patty Murray, to wonder whether this could be handled through money already granted to the DOD.
Your department received $150 billion last year in the Republicans' big, beautiful bill. It also received a record $839 billion for fiscal year 2026, more money than you asked for last year. Combined, that is a trillion-dollar budget for the year. And as I already mentioned, your department has yet to spend half of the reconciliation funds. And despite that, you are here today asking for tens of billions of dollars more for things that you've already asked for in your FY27 request or that have nothing to do with Iran. This administration has tried to sell this as an emergency request, but it may be better understood as an attempt to skirt the normal appropriations process.
Hegseth acknowledged the Pentagon had yet to spend about $75 billion that Congress had authorized for the department last year, but said that it was for other priorities. Leo Shane is a defense reporter at Politico who covered the hearing.
We've already heard from Democrats that they have no intention of supporting this war supplemental because it's de facto endorsement of the war. But there was some uncertainty with Republicans, too, over exactly how the money would be spent, where it would go, and whether or not DOD even needs the money.
One Republican, John Kennedy, expressed a certain level of exasperation in an exchange with Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Kaine.
I appreciate your discretion. But we're down to it. We need some hard answers and some straight talk.
How did lawmakers react when asked how the supplemental money would be spent?
I think Senator Kennedy was more frustrated that Secretary Hegseth and General Kaine didn't provide a more direct response on how the money would be spent. He very clearly was supportive of giving DOD more money, but wanted them to say, if we don't have this money, these are the poor consequences. And they never really got there.
Republicans hold slim majorities on the appropriations committees in the House and Senate, so it's not clear exactly when Hegseth would get the money he wants.
Everything is out of standstill with this committee at the moment. And frankly, without Senator McConnell there as an advocate for moving quicker, it is harder to get anything moved along in terms of getting the defense funding done, either in the supplemental or reconciliation bill or just the whole budget for fiscal 2027.
Shane said in all likelihood, additional Iran war funding would probably not pass before Labor Day.
America's ongoing support for Israel in the war with Iran and previously Israel's war in Gaza is causing divisions inside the Democratic Party, with a growing faction pushing for a change in policy toward the longtime U.S.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:05–0:06
2
What happened at Secretary Hegseth’s Capitol Hill hearing about $67 billion for the Iran war?
0:06–1:13
3
Why do senators question the Pentagon’s accounting of war spending and existing funds?
1:13–3:09
4
How did lawmakers react when asked how the supplemental money would be spent?
3:09–5:42
5
What political obstacles could delay approval of additional Iran war funding?
5:42–6:36
6
How is growing dissent within the Democratic Party changing U.S. policy toward Israel?
6:36–11:32
7
Why are progressive Democrats pushing to cut or condition aid to Israel and how is public opinion shifting?
11:32–12:15
8
Is iceberg lettuce the source of the cyclosporiasis outbreak and what do investigators say?
12:15–14:53
Speakers
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