Pete Hegseth Crushes Democrat’s Gotcha on Iran Ceasefire – RedState
It should never be said that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is the type to shy away from challenges. He’s been on the field and he’s got the dirt on his boots to prove it. As Secretary of War, he showed that he wasn’t afraid to get into things with congressmen and senators, not even when – perhaps especially when – they asked stupid questions during a hearing.
Democratic Rep. Pete Aguilar (CA-33) is one of them. At a recent hearing on the War Department’s 2027 budget request, Rep. Aguilar chose to hammer Secretary Hegseth on Operation Epic Fury, the situation with Iran, and the meaning of the term “ceasefire.” And, as expected, Rep. Aguilar was taken to school.
Secretary Hegseth just ended Democratic Rep. Pete Aguilar’s stuttering questions with a simple lesson on what the word “ceasefire” really means.
AGUILAR: “Mr. Secretary, on the same day, April 29, you testified that the current ceasefire meant that the 60-day schedule… pic.twitter.com/OEkapVYdvH
– Overton (@overton_news) May 12, 2026
The message reads in full:
Secretary Hegseth just ended Democratic Rep. Pete Aguilar’s stuttering questions with a simple lesson on what the word “ceasefire” really means.
AGUILAR: “Mr. Secretary, on the same day, April 29, you testified that the current ceasefire meant that the 60-day timetable with the War Powers Resolution was suspended. Who were the parties to the ceasefire?”
HEGSETH: “Well, we are currently in the same ceasefire. »
AGUILAR: “That wasn’t the question. Who are the parties to the ceasefire?”
HEGSETH: “It would be the United States and the Iranian regime. »
AGUILAR: “How many pages is the ceasefire? What are the points of the agreement? How do we know the ceasefire is active or… not active without any documentation?”
HEGSETH: “We know it. It’s obvious and the ceasefire is in effect.”
AGUILAR: “But… you… are these pages… is this… 15 points? There were different points that moved. Are there others… How do we know?… You just trust that the President knows whether the ceasefire is active or not?”
HEGSETH: “As you know, essentially a ceasefire means that the fire stops, and we know that that happened while negotiations were going on. »
When I was a much younger, less patient and less tolerant man, my response to Rep. Aguilar would have been “Duuuhhhh,” but I’m much older and more deliberate these days.
Rep. Aguilar also does not seem to understand that the goal of current engagement with Iran is to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon, despite the fact that the President and every member of the Cabinet, directly, indirectly, or tangentially involved in this matter, have said so on every occasion since this all began.
Secretary Hegseth just put Democratic Rep. Pete Aguilar in his place, after Aguilar tried to accuse him of using ceasefires to AVOID the War Powers Act.
AGUILAR: “Is the theory of creating more ceasefires or more projects simply to evade the War Powers Act? »
HEGSETH: “The “theory”… pic.twitter.com/mNqCZTE3GW
– Overton (@overton_news) May 12, 2026
This message reads:
Secretary Hegseth just put Democratic Rep. Pete Aguilar in his place, after Aguilar tried to accuse him of using ceasefires to AVOID the War Powers Act.
AGUILAR: “Is the theory of creating more ceasefires or more projects simply to evade the War Powers Act? »
HEGSETH: “The ‘theory’ of this whole thing is to prevent Iran from possessing nuclear weapons, and if that has to be done kinetically and militarily, the War Department is prepared to do it. »
“If it happens through Project Freedom, where you channel commerce, if it happens through a negotiated agreement.”
“The president has been very clear, even yesterday, it’s actually quite simple: Iran will never have a nuclear weapon one way or another.”
“And we are here to support the whole of government as a tool to achieve that.”
That’s a pretty clear statement. But Rep. Aguilar is of course not worried about all that. If President Obama or President Biden had executed this exact same plan, this same attack on the world’s largest state sponsor of Islamist terrorists, which is trying to build a nuclear weapon, Rep. Aguilar – bet on it – would have been all for it.
Principles, not principles.
Learn more: Hegseth and Caine explain how we’re stopping Iran’s last desperate game with ‘Project Freedom’
Here’s the problem: This ceasefire, this event where, you know, the two sides aren’t shooting at each other, well, it’s been fragile from the start. Iran continues to take risks. We still hit them when they fire shots. And President Trump now says the negotiations are live.
BREAKING: President Trump says Iran ceasefire is MASSIVELY on life support after their dismal response to his offer.
“I would say the ceasefire relies on a MASSIVE life support system, where the doctor comes in and says, sir, your loved one has about a 1% chance of living.”
“RIGHT… pic.twitter.com/hdbolp4YdX
– Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) May 11, 2026
Again, in full:
BREAKING: President Trump says Iran ceasefire is MASSIVELY on life support after their dismal response to his offer.
“I would say the ceasefire relies on a MASSIVE life support system, where the doctor comes in and says, sir, your loved one has about a 1% chance of living.”
“Right after reading that bullshit they sent us. I haven’t even finished reading it.
We must remember that when Secretary of War Hegseth is not defending stupid questions from members of Congress, he is overseeing a vast and complex operation aimed at dismantling one of the most brutal, violent and ruthless regimes on the planet. So far, the Iranian army has been destroyed, its political and military leaders relentlessly hunted, the birth certificate of its former supreme leader has been permanently revoked and his son, the new supreme leader, has not been seen since the first day of the fight. The smart money is that it is dead or completely incapacitated.
And, as we saw on Monday, what’s left of the regime may well be headed for the exit.
Learn more: Iranian leaders may now consider urgent flight to Moscow
Nothing is predictable in war. But right now, aside from Democrats’ bleating complaints, the Iranian regime is on their tail. It’s time to finish the job, and every member of Congress, Democrats and Republicans, should be able to see it for themselves. But Democrats are more concerned that this is a Trump administration effort than that it is a necessary act.
Principles, not principles.
Fortunately, we have in Pete Hegseth a head of the War Department who is as adept at dealing with Congress as he was with the barbarians of the 7th century.
Editor’s Note: President Trump is leading America toward the “Gilded Age” while Democrats are desperately trying to stop him.
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