Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth testifies during a Senate Committee on Appropriations subcommittee hearing to examine proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 2026 for the Department of Defense, on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, June 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is returning to Capitol Hill on Wednesday for another potentially combative hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee as airstrikes between Iran and Israel threaten a potentially devastating wider war. President Donald Trump has demanded Iran’s “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER,” and Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that joining the Israeli strikes will “result in irreparable damage” for the United States.”

TikTok still isn’t banned: Trump is expected to sign yet another order extending the deadline for TikTok’s Chinese owner to divest the popular video-sharing app. Despite a ban on the app in the U.S. that went into effect the day before Trump’s inauguration, this will be the third time Trump has extended the deadline.

A federal judge has blocked the administration from limiting passport sex markers for many transgender and nonbinary Americans. And Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is ” alert and recovering” after being hospitalized out of caution following an allergic reaction, department spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said.

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Hegseth faces more grilling from Congress as Iran-Israel conflict escalates

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is returning to Capitol Hill on Wednesday for the last in a series of often combative hearings before lawmakers, who have pressed him on everything from a ban on transgender troops to his use of a Signal chat to share sensitive military plans.

The questions — which also have touched on his firings of top military leaders and even some of his inner circle of advisers — may be dominated by the escalation of airstrikes between Iran and Israel that threaten a potentially devastating regional war. But he is still expected to face sharp questions about his chaotic tenure, his opposition to women in combat jobs and efforts to shift funding from troop housing to border security.

The U.S. has shifted significant numbers of refueling tankers and fighter aircraft to position them to be able to respond if needed to the conflict, such as possible evacuations or airstrikes. Hegseth said this week that was done to protect U.S. personnel and airbases.