On Tuesday, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and General Dan Caine testified before the Senate regarding the current cost of the Iran war and faced tough questions from both Republicans and Democrats.
During one part of the hearing, Senator Lindsey Graham questioned why the ceasefire negotiations were being held in Pakistan.
Graham, who appeared frustrated, then grilled both Hegseth and Caine on whether Pakistan is allowing Iran to keep some of their fighter jets grounded in the country.
CBS News reported more on Graham’s heated remarks:
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, who called the military operation against Iran “spectacular,” asked Caine if he was aware of CBS News reporting that Islamabad is allowing Iranian aircraft to park on Pakistan’s fields. Caine said he had seen the report.
When Graham asked if the activity would be “inconsistent with being a peace mediator,” Caine said he “wouldn’t want to comment on that, based on the ongoing negotiations and Pakistan’s role.”
Hegseth said he also wouldn’t want to get into the middle of the negotiations, to which Graham replied: “Well I do.”
“If they actually do have Iranian aircraft parked in Pakistan bases to protect Iranian military assets, that tells me we should be looking, maybe, for somebody else to mediate,” Graham said. “No wonder this damn thing is going nowhere.”
President Trump said Monday that the ceasefire with Iran is “on life support” after he called the latest Iran peace proposal “totally unacceptable.” Mr. Trump told CBS News that he aims to suspend the gas tax amid soaring gas prices.
Watch Graham here:
US Senator Lindsey Graham Slams Pakistan’s Role as Mediator in Iran Talks
'I don't trust Pakistan as far as I can throw them,' Graham said during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee. pic.twitter.com/AG8IdVPgmD
— RT_India (@RT_India_news) May 13, 2026
The Hill reported more on the Senate and House hearings:
Republicans in both the House and Senate pressed Hegseth on Trump’s mammoth $1.5 trillion Pentagon budget request, appearing skeptical of his proposal to fund $1.1 trillion through the regular appropriations process and another $350 billion through a reconciliation bill.
Budget reconciliation is a process that Republicans, as the majority party, could use to bypass a Democratic filibuster in the Senate, but it is difficult and time-consuming — and a number of Republicans have expressed doubts about their ability to pass a third such bill after using their second shot at it to pass immigration enforcement funding.
Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.), the chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, noted that “questions persist.”
“The subcommittee needs to understand how the resources requested in this budget translate into real, measurable improvements in warfighting capability,” Calvert said, adding that he has “serious concerns” about the Pentagon’s method for funding.
Hegseth replied that “there’s a reality in this town of what can get done and how it gets done and in a perfect world everything would get done in regular order and with a $1.5 trillion top line, but there are a lot of challenges and dynamics, some of which I don’t control.”
House Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) had similar concerns about the use of reconciliation to fund the Pentagon for the next fiscal year.
“I don’t have any concerns about the amount. … I am worried about the ability to sustain that number through the reconciliation process. At some point the money disappears,” Cole said.
Later, at the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing, Chair Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) hammered Hegseth over the plan, objecting to leaving crucial Pentagon programs — such as the “Golden Dome” missile defense system, munitions, the F-35 fighter jet and drone production — outside the normal appropriations process.
Is Graham trying to sabotage a potential peace deal?
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