Washington, D.C. — Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) today questioned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine on the Pentagon’s preparedness for potential orders from President Trump and the munitions crisis that our country faces.

A video of the exchange may be found here. The full exchange is below.

Senator Cotton: Welcome everyone. Thank you for your testimony and, more importantly, your service. Secretary Hegseth, the President, at a press gaggle just now at the White House, said of strikes against Iran — Senator Shaheen’s question — "I may do it, I may not do it, I mean nobody knows what I’m going to do." You had referred to these questions as presidential-level decisions. Is that right? I think that’s always true — advisers advise and presidents decide. But it’s your job to have contingency plans for everything that the President may or may not decide. Is that correct?

Secretary Hegseth: That is correct.

Senator Cotton: And no one should be surprised or scandalized that the Pentagon has lots and lots of contingency plans.

Secretary Hegseth: Senator, our job is to have contingency plans.

Senator Cotton: It’s like in Armageddon — Billy Bob Thornton’s character Truman, speaking of NASA, could have been speaking of the Pentagon: “You’re geniuses. You’re just thinking stuff up, and you’ve got people in another room backing them up.” Is that right?

Secretary Hegseth: We plan. Thank you.

Senator Cotton: And although it's true in every part of the government, it’s probably no more true than in your department — that it’s a presidential-level decision. This is the President’s core constitutional responsibility as the commander-in-chief. I mean, it’s important what he does with Labor and HUD and the rest, but as commander-in-chief, it's the most important role he has. And therefore, you’re the department where you take the most direct guidance from the President. Everyone in the department has to support the President’s decisions once those decisions are made. Correct?

Secretary Hegseth: Correct, Senator. As I’ve said, there’s only one person that was elected President of the United States. The American people elected him to make these decisions on their behalf. And if and when those decisions are made, the Department is prepared to execute.

Senator Cotton: I know that you welcome and have robust policy debates in the department. No doubt, you have very differing views on many questions — whether it’s what to do with Iran, or what kind of aircraft or ships we need to build, or what the quality of commissaries are on our bases. And that’s welcome — you need that kind of robust debate to make the right recommendations.

But once the President’s decision has been made on any question, that’s final, right? That’s your standard?

Secretary Hegseth: The President welcomes — I’ve watched it in real time — views on all issues from all aspects. But yes, once those have been represented — intelligence represented, options represented, upsides, downsides, threats — of course, when the President makes a call as commander-in-chief, we will execute.

Senator Cotton: Well, thank you. Because I know there was some controversy earlier this year inside the department, and not everyone seemed to be on the same page that you and the President are. After presidential decisions had been made, and you had to make some tough decisions there, and I commend you for those decisions. I think you did the right thing. You have to make sure that everyone stays on the same page and everyone supports presidential decisions. One decision I also want to call out — since we haven’t spoken about it here and I’m not sure we will — I want to commend you for as well, and commend your team is the redesignation of base names for Army bases. In the summer of 2020, as a Jacobin fever swept the country during the BLM riots, it was decided to rename several Army bases. To be honest with you, I think most soldiers serving at those bases didn’t even know who they were named after. They just had fond recollections for decades of their time at Fort Benning or Fort Bragg or other places. And I think now you’ve completed the effort to redesignate those bases — to names that so many generations of soldiers served at — for new American heroes. Is that right?

Secretary Hegseth: Yes. All of the previous names for the U.S. Army installations have been returned.

Senator Cotton: Well, thank you. I think that was an inspired approach. It complies with the law. It teaches a new generation of soldiers about those who went before them. And I hope the matter is settled. I especially want to commend you for Fort Gordon — named after Gary Gordon, one of two Delta operators, along with Randy Shughart, who willingly laid down their life in the Battle of Mogadishu to protect their buddies. Not even in the battle at the time — and against commander’s repeated wishes — until they pestered the commanders finally to let them get on the ground and protect those soldiers on the ground and lay down their life. I think that was an inspired choice. One final question: You’d say that everything needs to be on the table to address our munitions crisis?

We all agree on this committee — we’ve all been working hard for many years on that. Private industry is very important. But you have your own organic industrial base — ammunition plants, arsenals, depots. That’s included in “everything,” right? That we need to look at every possible source to address every potential choke point in our munition supply chain?

Secretary Hegseth: Every possible source.

Senator Cotton: Thank you. General Caine, you agree with that, I presume? That our organic industrial base — especially the arsenals and ammunition plants and depots — are a solution to this problem, not a part of the problem or a relic of the past?

General Caine: I do, sir. And I’m aware of your letter to the Army on that matter, which I know they’re looking at.

Senator Cotton: Okay. Thank you.