Hegseth: “We have a plan to escalate if necessary, we have a plan to retrograde if necessary”

Pete Hegseth | MGN

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that the Pentagon has a plan for a number of scenarios when asked at a congressional hearing about the possible directions the war with Iran could take.

Democratic Rep. Betty McCollum of Minnesota questioned Hegseth about continued military operations in Iran, following a dispute over a 60-day timeline for the administration to withdraw American forces from a conflict in the absence of congressional authorization. McCollum said if Congress doesn’t authorize continued military operations, “you’re going to have to have a plan put in place to draw down our troops, to reset the region and protect our assets.”

“We have a plan for all of that,” Hegseth said. “We have a plan to escalate if necessary, we have a plan to retrograde if necessary, we have a plan to shift assets.”

Hegseth said he wouldn’t reveal any next steps in a public setting, “considering the gravity of the mission that the president is undertaking to ensure that Iran never has a nuclear bomb.”

The defense secretary is testifying to a House appropriations subcommittee about the Pentagon’s budget proposal.

Hegseth said the $1.5 trillion budget request, “reflects the urgency of the moment” and would address both the “deferment of longstanding problems as well as position our forces for the current and future fight.”