House Democrats press GOP chair to hold hearing on Iran war

All Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) pressed the chair of the panel, Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), to call for a public hearing from Defense Department (DOD) officials on the ongoing Iran war after lawmakers in both parties were left unsatisfied with information shared during classified briefings on the conflict earlier this week. 

“We believe the military action against Iran necessitates that the Department of Defense immediately testify, in an open setting, before the House Armed Services Committee,” the 27 House lawmakers wrote in a Friday letter to Rogers, who criticized the Pentagon for not providing more substantive information about U.S. military strategy during the Wednesday HASC classified briefing on Capitol Hill. 

“We are deeply troubled by the lack of transparency from the Trump Administration and the Department of Defense and its failure to keep the Congress and the American people informed,” the lawmakers said in the 4-page letter. “We remain concerned by the ever-shifting strategic and operational objectives of the conflict and lack of clarity regarding the possible use of U.S. ground forces in the region.” 

The Hill has reached out to Rogers’s office for comment on the letter. 

“We want to know more about what’s going on, what the options are and why they’re being considered. And we’re just not getting enough answers on those questions,” Rogers said on Wednesday after HASC briefing, expressing dissatisfaction shared by lawmakers in both chambers as the Trump administration mulling sending ground troops to Iran four weeks into the war.

On Friday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio downplayed the need for boots on the ground, telling reporters in France that the U.S. “can achieve all our objectives without deploying ground troops” inside Iran. 

Over 300 U.S. service members have been wounded since the war started in late February, U.S. Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins, the U.S. Central Command (Centcom) spokesperson, told The Hill on Friday.

The vast majority were minor injuries and 273 troops have returned to duty, Hawkins said in a statement. At least 13 service members have been killed in the conflict.

House Democrats also said in the letter that “our questions remain unanswered about the costs incurred, including daily operations, lost and damaged equipment, munitions expenditures and reports that the administration plans to ask Congress for a $200 billion supplemental.” 

The U.S. military has continued to strike inside Iran, hitting over 10,000 targets inside the country. Centcom said in a recent update that its forces have destroyed two-thirds of Iran’s naval, missile and drone production sites.  

“There is no question that the Iranian regime is guilty of horrific crimes against its own people, conducts destabilization activities throughout the region, and should not be permitted to develop a nuclear weapon,” the lawmakers said in the letter. 

“Given the complexity and gravity of this conflict, it is imperative that it receive its own hearing, separate and apart from the committee’s posture hearing with the Commander of U.S. Central Command as well as the budget hearing with the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,” the House Democrats wrote. 

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