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Khanna goes to war with Hegseth over Iran costs
Congressman Ro Khanna accused the Trump administration of betraying the MAGA base which voted for it.
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Jeffin T. Kaleekal - Thu, 30, Apr 2026
- 01:45 EDT
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U.S. Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA) speaks during a press conference on the Epstein Files Transparency Act ahead of a House vote on the release of files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 18, 2025. / REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon
Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna and U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth went head to head in a heated discussion on the U.S.-Iran war, during a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee on April 29.
Khanna hit out at the Trump administration claiming, “You said you won't get us into bad wars. You said you wouldn't, you would bring down the prices. You know what I'm sad for? I'm sad for all the people who voted for Trump.”
He added, “I'm sad for them because you betrayed them. You betrayed a lot of that MAGA base. And you know who knows that? J.D. Vance knows that.”
In a heated back and forth, Khanna asked Hegseth about the cost of ongoing strife with Iran.
Khanna argued that the total cost of the war was well above the $25 billion figure that the U.S. comptroller had earlier confirmed and questioned Hegseth on whether he was aware of the cost’s impact on prices in the United States.
Hegseth described the question as a “gotcha question” and contrasted the cost of war with the cost of Iran having a nuclear weapon.
Khanna put a number to the increased cost of gas and other essentials on the American household, he said, “It's $631 billion, which means it's an increase of $5,000 a year for American households.”
ALSO READ: Krishnamoorthi seeks investigation into Trump officials’ use of war intelligence
Khanna also brought up the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal, which Donald Trump had backed out of during his first tenure.
“Do you know how much the enriched uranium was after you ripped up the JCPOA?”, Khanna asked. Hegseth, however, sidestepped the question and hit out at rising prices in the Democrat-run California, blaming Khanna’s peers for policy failures.
KHANNA: Do you know how much it will cost Americans in terms of the increased cost of gas and food because of the Iran war?
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 29, 2026
HEGSETH: You're playing gotcha about domestic things
KHANNA: You're saying it's a gotcha question to ask about increased costs?! It's $5,000 a year for… pic.twitter.com/YNydDypOtv
Khanna accused Hegseth of incompetence over him being unaware about the war’s impact on the households. He said, “You don't even know what the average American is paying. You don't know what we paid in terms of the missiles that hit the Iranian school. You don't know what we're paying in terms of gas. You don't know what we're paying in terms of food.”
He added, “Your $25 billion number is totally off. It's incompetence.”
A Pew Research poll conducted last month found that 61 percent of Americans disapprove of their country’s war with Iran, with 59 percent of the respondents arguing that the initial decision to use military force itself was wrong.
Discover more at New India Abroad.
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