Democratic senator says Hegseth trying to hide costs of Iran war from US public
Chris Murphy says Pentagon blocked him from military base in Qatar and Iran strike on US embassy in Riyadh far worse than public led to believe
TL;DR
- Senator Chris Murphy witnessed "extraordinary" damage at the US embassy in Riyadh from an Iranian strike, suggesting it would have been deadly during the day.
- Murphy accuses Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth of trying to hide the costs and consequences of the war from the public.
- The senator was denied access to Al Udeid air base in Qatar, where Iranian drone strikes halted LNG production, causing significant export losses.
- Murphy plans to introduce legislation to ensure congressional access to overseas bases and may seek to withhold defense funding.
- He criticized the administration's actions as a dismissal of Congress's role and relevance.