Trump Sec. Hegseth Lashes Out at CNN Reporter During Presser for Asking About Cost of Military Mission

Trump Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth lashed out at CNN chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju for asking a question he described as an attempt to “undermine” the administration’s Venezuela mission.

Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke to reporters on Capitol Hill as they prepared to brief lawmakers on the Trump administration’s operations around Venezuela after Trump’s strike and capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

The presser was carried live on Wednesday’s edition of CNN’s The Situation Room, during which Raju angered Hegseth with his grilling about the pricetag for the Venezuela mission:

MANU RAJU: How much does it cost American taxpayers, American, how much, how long to the American public?

SEC. MARCO RUBIO: It doesn’t, it doesn’t costs us–.

MANU RAJU: The involvement, the U.S. Involvement in Venezuela. How much will it cost?

SEC. MARCO RUBIO: Well, it’s not going to cost us any money. For example, this oil deal that’s happening doesn’t cause us any money. On the contrary. And if it opens up–.

MANU RAJU: (INAUDIBLE) cost no money to the American taxpayers?

SEC. MARCO RUBIO: Well, look, I can’t, I don’t have the numbers, what operation are you talking about? The entire thing?

MANU RAJU: Yeah!

SEC. MARCO RUBIO: Well, these troops are going to be deployed, none of these troops sit in a dry dock waiting for action. They’re deployed somewhere in the world. If they’re not here, they’re somewhere else.

Just today, our forces, not deployed to the Caribbean, seized a boat, a sanctioned boat tied to the IRGC that tried to flee from us. That happened somewhere else.

We are constantly involved in action. We have boats in the Mediterranean. We have ships in the Middle East. We have ship in the Indo-Pacific.

These ships, if they weren’t in the Caribbean they’d be somewhere else conducting activity. That’s what the Navy does.

(CROSSTALK)

SEC. PETE HEGSETH: I want to emphasize that question from CNN.

The question is never asked how much does it cost when they’re in the Mediterranean or the Red Sea or the Indian Ocean or the Pacific. But now that they’re in our hemisphere, on a counter cartel mission or ensuring that an indicted individual comes to justice, now you’re asking the question of cost.

It’s a disingenuous question to begin with. You’re trying to find any angle possible to undermine the success of one of the most historic military missions the world has ever seen!

The level of sophistication that Senate just was briefed on, and the House was brief on a classified level, is something only the United States of America can accomplish.

Watch above via CNN’s The Situation Room.