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Browse major news stories and see what officials have said.

Sep 27, 2026· Updated

Hegseth Pitches His $1.5 Trillion Defense Budget on Capitol Hill and Locks Democrats Out of Every Classified Briefing — and It Is Senate Republicans Who Tell Him to Stop

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made at least two closed-door trips to Capitol Hill in early August 2026 to sell President Trump's record $1.5 trillion defense budget, and lawmakers in both parties said he excluded Democrats from every session. The sharpest criticism came from Republicans on the Armed Services Committee, who warned that the appropriations portion of the package cannot pass without Democratic votes. Sen. Thom Tillis said Hegseth "calls himself the secretary of war" but will not "go to war and win the argument with nearly half the members of the Senate." Sen. Lisa Murkowski said the briefings "need to be bipartisan," and Sen. Mike Rounds said Democrats "need to be brought up to speed," while adding that classified material must stay classified. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the ranking Democrat on Foreign Relations, said the pattern extended past the Pentagon to routine committee-staff briefings. Senate Democrats threatened to withhold support from defense spending bills over the exclusions. The Pentagon said it "remains fully committed to working with Congress."

“Republicans are frustrated that he hasn't reached out to Democrats. He didn't in his confirmation, and he hasn't much since at all. … [The continued lack of engagement with Democrats] continues to be a strategic error. … [The firings have] bothered some people. And it probably has had an impact on morale a little bit. But all in all, I think Pete's a pretty strong leader.”
Kevin Cramer (R-ND) · Sep 27, 2026

pentagon

defense-budget

congressional-oversight

10 statements

Sep 25, 2026· Updated

Senate Democrats Demand a Navy Accounting for the USS Abraham Lincoln's Record 250-Day Deployment as Hegseth Calls Reports of Sailors Going Overboard "Completely Misrepresented"

On Wednesday, August 12, 2026, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, sent a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao demanding an accounting of conditions aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, the flagship of Carrier Strike Group 3 supporting operations in the war against Iran. The Lincoln left San Diego in November 2025 on what was scheduled as a roughly seven-month deployment. By mid-August 2026 it had been at sea more than 250 days and had gone more than 200 days without a port call, a record for consecutive days at sea. Reporting by Military Times and Stars and Stripes, drawing on sailors' families, described shortages of basic supplies, water contamination, plumbing failures, deck safety problems, disrupted mail, and deteriorating mental health aboard the ship — including accounts that at least two sailors had been stopped from jumping overboard and that another entered the water and was recovered. A U.S. official confirmed to ABC News that a sailor went overboard in early August and was quickly recovered; CENTCOM disputed the broader characterization. Blumenthal's letter was joined by demands from other Senate Democrats: Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) called for a bipartisan congressional delegation to visit the ship, and Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), a former Navy combat pilot, called the reports "disturbing" and tied them to an undefined mission. On Thursday, August 13, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called for Hegseth's firing. Hegseth pushed back the same day, telling reporters the accounts were "completely misrepresented" and defending the Navy's support for the crew. A Navy official said the Lincoln was "operating in a highly contested environment where traditional supply hubs in the Middle East were disrupted by combat actions" and that the command had not identified an increase in reported suicidal ideation. The Pentagon subsequently announced the USS George Washington would deploy to the Middle East to relieve the Lincoln. No Senate or House Republican was found on the record about the Lincoln's conditions during this window; Congress was in August recess.

“That this administration can find endless taxpayer dollars for bombs, ballrooms, and billionaires, but cannot take care of our service members, is completely unacceptable. … The American people need hearings, accountability and a clear plan to protect our service members and prioritize American families.”
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) · Sep 25, 2026

Families of Five People Killed by Federal Immigration Agents Tell a Democratic Shadow Hearing the Government's "Falsehoods" Amount to "Dual Assassinations" — Richard Blumenthal Says the Anger "Ought to Be Directed at Congress" Too, and Alex Padilla Promises Investigations "When We Get the Gavels Back"

On September 22, 2026, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), the ranking members of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and the House Oversight Committee, convened their fifth bicameral "shadow hearing" on immigration enforcement in a Senate office building. Relatives of five people killed by ICE or CBP agents — Ruben Ray Martinez, Renée Good, Alex Pretti, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, who was shot in Biddeford, Maine — described what they called official falsehoods, obstruction of investigations and smears of the victims. Democrats in the minority cannot compel testimony or issue subpoenas; members at the forum pledged formal investigations if their party wins control of either chamber in November.

“We're all committed to accountability in all its forms, and when we get the gavels back, we're going to move on that aggressively, starting with the investigations.”
Alex Padilla (D-CA) · Sep 22, 2026

Sep 21, 2026· Updated

Trump Media Sells Traders $100,000-a-Month Early Access to Trump's Truth Social Posts, Drawing Republican Unease, Democratic Investigations, and a First Amendment Lawsuit

On July 16, 2026, Trump Media & Technology Group announced "Truth API," a business-to-business data feed giving paying customers licensed, machine-readable, real-time delivery of posts from the highest-ranking Truth Social accounts — including the president's. The service was pitched to high-frequency traders, hedge funds, and other institutional investors at up to $100,000 a month, with a discounted $60,000 rate for firms signing three-year contracts. It launched August 1, 2026. Interim CEO Kevin McGurn said the product would let TMTG "monetize proprietary assets," adding that "markets already move on Truth Social posts." Trump controls a trust holding a large majority stake in Trump Media and therefore stands to profit directly. The reaction split along an unusual line. Democrats moved on three tracks at once: Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) wrote to SEC Chair Paul Atkins on July 21 asking the agency to examine the product before launch; Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) wrote the same day to financial-industry trade groups urging member firms to refuse to buy it; Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) sent their own SEC referral on July 28; House Judiciary ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) opened a minority investigation on July 30, demanding TMTG's customer list, pricing, marketing materials, and communications with administration officials; and Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) introduced the Stop Corrupt Trading Act on August 4 with Sens. Richard Blumenthal, Sheldon Whitehouse, and Gary Peters, which would make it a federal crime for a president or vice president — or any company in which they hold at least a 5 percent stake — to sell nonpublic access to their statements. Padilla's office estimated the feed could generate roughly $120 million a year if about 100 firms subscribed. More unusually, several Senate Republicans volunteered criticism when reporters asked. Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) all said the arrangement looked improper; Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said he was still working out how to respond. No congressional Republican publicly defended the product. On August 12, The Intercept and the Freedom of the Press Foundation sued Trump and Trump Media in federal court in Manhattan, arguing that selling preferential access to the president's public announcements violates the First and Fifth Amendments. A TMTG spokesperson said Democrats were mischaracterizing Truth API "either out of ideological opposition to free markets or a failure to grasp the distinction between public and nonpublic information," and the White House has said there is no conflict of interest. No regulator has determined that the service is unlawful; the SEC had not publicly acted as of mid-August.

“Trump Media created a marketplace that enables insider trading, which Trump directly profits from. This scheme turns the public trust into private profit. It is corruption, plain and simple.”
David Chiu (D-CA) · Sep 21, 2026

trump-media

truth-social

conflicts-of-interest

17 statements

Sep 19, 2026· Updated

A Chatbot-Assisted Intelligence Report Sent Armed U.S. Troops to Board a Chinese Ship for Nuclear Weapons Parts That Were Never There — and the Top Democrats on Intelligence, Armed Services and Defense Appropriations Demand an Inspector General Investigation of AI Errors in Military Targeting

On September 18, 2026, CNN reported that earlier this year, during the Iran war, a U.S. Special Operations Command analyst used an AI chatbot to help produce an intelligence report claiming a Chinese ship in the Middle East was carrying components for a nuclear weapons program. The report circulated across the military; armed personnel suited up to board the vessel and military aircraft were already airborne before senior officials examined the underlying sourcing and concluded the report was "entirely false." One source told CNN the "hallucination" reflected a trend rather than an isolated incident, and another said it "almost started a war." On September 19, Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner, Armed Services Ranking Member Jack Reed and Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Chris Coons wrote to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton demanding an "immediate investigation by relevant Inspectors General." The letter also cited the February strike on a school in Minab, Iran, which killed nearly 200 people, after commanders bypassed warnings in AI-powered databases that the target intelligence was badly outdated. The Pentagon, which under Hegseth has pushed to accelerate AI adoption across operations, had not publicly responded as of September 19.

“[We call for an] immediate investigation by relevant Inspectors General, with a higher degree of public transparency in the ultimate findings, given the impacts these perceived failures have on public confidence in our intelligence and warfighting missions.”
Jack Reed (D-RI) · Sep 19, 2026

artificial-intelligence

The Pentagon Owes the Senate Armed Services Committee a Defense Strategy Update and Elbridge Colby Arrives Without One — a Republican Says He Would "Just Sort of Dodge and Punt," Another Says "They Owe Us a Report, and We Did Not Get the Report," and Asked About Troops at the Polls He "Never Once Said 'Yes' or 'No'"

Under the annual National Defense Authorization Act, the Pentagon owed the Senate Armed Services Committee a classified briefing and implementation report on the Trump administration's National Defense Strategy by September 15, 2026. On Thursday, September 17, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby appeared before the committee in a closed session — and, senators of both parties said afterward, did not deliver it. Lawmakers said Colby gave unsatisfying answers on the Iran war, depleted munitions stockpiles and whether the administration has discussed deploying the National Guard to polling places during November's midterm elections. According to Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer, Colby acknowledged he "had heard about some of those discussions taking place" but said he was not leading on the issue and never answered yes or no. Republicans Cramer and Mike Rounds joined Democrats Jacky Rosen and Mark Kelly in criticizing the session. Republican Jim Banks dissented, calling it "constructive" and "substantive." Committee Chairman Roger Wicker declined to comment on the classified briefing. The session came days after the Pentagon Inspector General reported "strategic inventory shortfalls" from munitions spent in the Iran war, and amid a broader fight over the flow of information from the Pentagon to Congress.

“It's very peculiar to have somebody come in for a congressionally mandated update and not have a statement.”
Kevin Cramer (R-ND) · Sep 17, 2026

pentagon

national-defense-strategy

elbridge-colby

6 statements

Sep 5, 2026· Updated

Three Four-Star Combatant Commanders and the Chief of Naval Operations Formally Tell Hegseth "Non-Concur" on Extending the Iran War — and When It Leaks, the Pentagon's Answer Is That Publishing It "Is a Crime"

The August 14, 2026 edition of the Secretary of Defense Orders Book — the classified internal document that allocates which forces go where — asked the services and the combatant commands to sign off on extending the units committed to the Iran war. According to reporting published by The Washington Post on August 30, they did not. The commanders of U.S. European Command, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and U.S. Southern Command, along with Adm. Daryl Caudle, the chief of naval operations, entered a formal "non-concur" — the military's institutional way of putting disagreement on the record. The chiefs of the Army and Air Force concurred but attached warnings that doing so carried significant risk. The substance of the objection was readiness. With so many aircraft, ships and air-defense systems pulled into the Iran campaign, the commanders responsible for Europe, the Pacific and Latin America told Hegseth they could not execute their own war plans if a crisis opened in their theaters — or, in one framing, defend the homeland. Caudle told Hegseth the Navy cannot sustain its current contribution when the campaign has no anticipated end date, and reported that barely a quarter of the destroyer fleet was ready to deploy. The Pentagon's public response was not to engage the readiness argument but to attack the disclosure. Chief spokesman Sean Parnell wrote that publishing the orders book is "a crime" and "a betrayal of the force," while simultaneously arguing that non-concurs are routine and that the secretary "sees them constantly." A Washington Post spokesperson said the paper was confident in its reporting and sourcing. In Congress — still in recess until mid-September, which sharply limited on-record reaction over the holiday weekend — the first responses came from House Democrats. Rep. Gil Cisneros, a Navy veteran on Armed Services, said the episode was "another example of mismanagement by Pete Hegseth" and that his decisions "will have a negative impact on readiness for years to come." Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, a senior Intelligence Committee member, tied it directly to China: with the carrier USS George Washington moved out of the Pacific and munitions stockpiles depleted, he told Bloomberg the United States is inviting Beijing to test it over Taiwan.

“The Department does not comment on internal personnel or investigative matters but takes all leaks of classified national security information extremely seriously and investigates accordingly. Securing classified information is critical to ensuring the security of the United States and of our troops deployed around the world.”
Sean Parnell (R) · Sep 5, 2026

Reports of an ICE Surge in Indianapolis Draw a Congressional Inquiry From André Carson and a Warning From Jim Banks That "We Will Not Let Indianapolis Become Minneapolis" — While the Mayor Says Nobody Told the City Anything

In the first days of September 2026, immigrant-aid groups in Indianapolis and Bloomington reported a sharp increase in Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity — masked agents, unmarked vehicles, arrests off traffic stops, and a foot pursuit that crossed multiple lanes of traffic. ICE would not confirm an operation or provide details. On Sept. 3, Rep. André Carson (D-Ind.) sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and acting ICE Director David Venturella demanding an accounting. Carson's objection was to the method as much as the scale: agents whose identity, authority and mission the public cannot verify, he wrote, produce fear rather than safety. Indiana's Republicans answered in the opposite direction. Sen. Jim Banks said anyone obstructing ICE in Indiana should be arrested and prosecuted, and invoked Minneapolis — where Operation Metro Surge and the shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis by ICE officer Christian Castro have produced eight months of litigation — as the outcome he intends to avoid. Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith said he "proudly" supported the officers working in the state. City government's position was that it had no position, because it had no information. Mayor Joe Hogsett's office and City-County Council President Maggie Lewis both said no federal immigration authority had communicated with any city or county agency about current or planned operations in Marion County; the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and the Marion County Sheriff's Office each said they were not involved. Both Hogsett and Lewis paired that with a statement of what kind of city Indianapolis intends to be.

“At this time, we have no information indicating that federal immigration authorities have formally changed their approach or are specifically targeting Indianapolis.”
Maggie Lewis (D-IN) · Sep 3, 2026

A Sitting Congressman Learns the FBI Recorded His Calls — Rep. Suhas Subramanyam Releases the DOJ Notice Showing a Wiretap Swept Up His Conversations With the Virginia Senate Leader Who Ran the Redistricting Referendum

On September 3, 2026 Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA-10) released a notice he said the Justice Department and FBI had sent him disclosing that a federal judge authorized a wiretap in early March 2026 that intercepted some of his own phone calls between March 6 and April 5. The tap was placed as part of the Justice Department's corruption investigation into L. Louise Lucas, the president pro tempore of the Virginia Senate, over an alleged bribery scheme connected to a marijuana dispensary business she co-owns. Lucas has not been charged and denies wrongdoing. Subramanyam did not dispute that he was incidentally captured rather than targeted, but pointed at the calendar: the interception window sat at the peak of campaigning for Virginia's redistricting referendum, which Lucas helped lead, and overlapped with the House Oversight Committee's push to make then-Attorney General Pam Bondi testify about the Epstein files. He placed the wiretap in a line that runs through the Department's investigations of Democratic state attorneys general and the former FBI director, and said the surveillance would not deter Democratic oversight of the administration. The FBI declined to comment and the Justice Department did not respond to reporters. The investigation itself predates the current administration — it was opened under President Biden — and the FBI's May 6, 2026 search of Lucas's Portsmouth office and cannabis business had already drawn a round of statements from Virginia Democrats, most of whom stopped short of asserting the probe was manufactured while insisting the political context could not be ignored.

“If this surveillance was done to scare us and to get Democrats to stop pushing back against Trump's political overreach, they are mistaken. We will not back down. We will continue our investigations into this President and his corrupt administration.”
Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA) · Sep 3, 2026

A Pentagon Memo Says the Navy Is "Raiding" Its Own Payroll Accounts to Pay for the Iran War — and the Chief of Naval Operations Says He Needs $8 Billion More Just to Stay Solvent

On August 27, 2026, the Guardian reported, based on internal documents and interviews, that Operation Epic Fury — the war with Iran — has pushed the US Navy into a severe financial crisis. One Pentagon memo on Navy funding warns of "shortfalls in payroll" accounts because the department has been "raiding" them to cover combat operations, backfilling with money not yet spent elsewhere. Equipment and facility maintenance accounts are being drained the same way, and exercises and training have been limited or canceled to bridge the gap until the 2027 fiscal year begins on October 1. A Navy spokesperson disputed that pay is at risk, saying the department "is actively managing its resources to meet current pay obligations on time." The next day, August 28, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle used his State of the Navy address in Norfolk to put a number on it: the Navy needs $6 billion to $8 billion above what was budgeted "to be whole and solvent for [Fiscal Year] 26." More than 27,000 sailors and two dozen ships supported the Iran campaign. Asked about the size of the administration's proposed $1.5 trillion defense budget, Caudle said he was not offended by it — "I need my money." Caudle had warned Congress in May that the Navy could run out of money by July: "The FY '26 budget didn't bake in Epic Fury." The White House has asked Congress for an emergency infusion of $67 billion; House Republicans floated $73 billion through reconciliation. At a July 21 Senate Appropriations hearing, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said she had been told "some military services face near-term solvency challenges." House Armed Services member Rep. Pat Harrigan (R-NC) told colleagues to "get rid of the complacency," and Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN), the top Democrat on the House defense appropriations panel, said Congress needs "to know what we're purchasing and why."

“I need my money. I don’t think we should be offended by $1.5 trillion.”
Daryl Caudle (O) · Aug 28, 2026

Aug 28, 2026· Updated

The Government Has Paid Nearly $4 Billion to Kill Offshore Wind — and $900 Million of the Latest Settlement Goes Straight to a Private Equity Firm Run by a Trump Donor Who Lives Near Mar-a-Lago

On August 6–7, 2026, the Trump administration announced a $1.22 billion settlement with the German utility RWE. In exchange for the money — drawn from a federal fund — RWE gave up offshore wind leases off New York, California and Louisiana, roughly seven gigawatts of planned capacity, and agreed to reinvest the proceeds in oil, gas or nuclear "conventional energy." It was the latest in a series of buyouts, beginning with a roughly $1 billion deal with TotalEnergies in March 2026, that has now cost taxpayers close to $4 billion. On August 27, 2026, reporting revealed where most of the RWE money is going: $900 million of it will buy a stake in a Louisiana LNG project from Stonepeak, the private equity firm co-founded and run by Australian billionaire Michael Dorrell. Dorrell owns a mansion near Mar-a-Lago and gave a combined roughly $1 million to the Trump-Vance inaugural committee after the 2024 election. Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA), ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee, who had already called the settlements "an insane waste of taxpayer funds and a ridiculous charade that seems to be blatantly illegal," said the Stonepeak connection "now adds the stench of corruption," and said he would expand his existing investigation to cover it. The White House called the reporting "a brazen attempt to insinuate a conflict-of-interest that does not exist," and the Interior Department said "no one at the Department directed which company RWE was to invest in." The buyouts were already under scrutiny. In June 2026, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James led a seven-state lawsuit calling the arrangement a "pay-not-to-play scheme." In July 2026, Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) led fourteen senators — including Schumer, Schatz, King and Heinrich — in an investigation of the deals. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) called the buybacks "an enormous money pump, pulling billions of dollars out of consumers' pockets." Interior Secretary Doug Burgum defended them, saying Americans "deserve an energy system built on common sense, not one dependent on costly subsidies."

“The Trump Administration’s backroom buyout with Golden State Wind to stop offshore wind development in favor of gas and oil drilling is, unfortunately, a classic playbook for them to line the pockets of their Big Oil donors.”
Rob Bonta (D-CA) · Aug 28, 2026

RFK Jr. Told Senators His 2019 Samoa Trip Had "Nothing to Do With Vaccines" — a Newly Surfaced Letter He Wrote to Samoa’s Prime Minister Uses the Word Eight Times

On August 27, 2026, the Associated Press and The Guardian published a January 2019 letter, written on Children's Health Defense letterhead, in which Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asked Samoa's prime minister to let his team "conduct detailed health informatics assessment in Samoa of what happened with your MMR vaccines," following the deaths of two children who had received them. The letter uses the words "vaccine" or "vaccination" eight times. Kennedy told two Senate committees during his 2025 confirmation hearings that the trip had nothing to do with vaccines — "I went there, nothing to do with vaccines. I went there to introduce a medical informatics system" — and denied any role in the measles outbreak that killed 83 people in Samoa later in 2019, most of them young children. He was confirmed 52-48. The Department of Health and Human Services said the visit was "unrelated to vaccines" and called the claim that Kennedy lied "not only false but outright defamatory." Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) said Kennedy "should never have been confirmed"; Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), ranking Democrat on the Finance Committee that took the testimony, said he would press Republicans to refer the matter to the Justice Department. Hawaii Gov. Josh Green, an emergency physician who worked in Samoa, tied the episode to the current U.S. measles outbreak. The documents surfaced a day after the first U.S. measles deaths of 2026 were confirmed in Pennsylvania.

“This is a pattern, not a slip. RFK Jr. has lied to the Senate, lied to the American people, and jeopardized the health of children to advance his anti-vaccine agenda. He should never have been confirmed, and he cannot be trusted to run [the US Department of Health and Human Services] for even one more day.”
Ed Markey (D-MA) · Aug 27, 2026

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