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During a rare appearance before a congressional committee, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faced strong Democratic criticism on Wednesday for a range of actions during his tenure—not least the planning and prosecution of the Iran war.

Hegseth’s job performance has come under growing bipartisan scrutiny amid widespread congressional displeasure with the dearth of information that the Defense Department has shared about the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran as well as a recent spate of high-profile firings of well-regarded senior military officers and civilian officials.

During a rare appearance before a congressional committee, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faced strong Democratic criticism on Wednesday for a range of actions during his tenure—not least the planning and prosecution of the Iran war.

Hegseth’s job performance has come under growing bipartisan scrutiny amid widespread congressional displeasure with the dearth of information that the Defense Department has shared about the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran as well as a recent spate of high-profile firings of well-regarded senior military officers and civilian officials.

“Mr. Hegseth, I stand by what I said last time you were here. You were incompetent then, you’re incompetent now, and you’re the gift that keeps on giving when it comes to incompetence,” said Democratic Rep. Salud Carbajal.

“You need to resign immediately,” said Democratic Rep. Patrick Ryan, following a heated exchange with Hegseth over whether he and other Pentagon leaders should be held responsible for the deaths of six U.S.........

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