Pete Hegseth STUNNED Into Silence as Senator Murphy Corners Him on January 6 — Hearing Erupts

The hearing was supposed to be routine.
It was supposed to be about budgets, contracts, and timelines.
But it took one unexpected turn — and Pete Hegseth was left frozen, unable to answer the question sitting at the center of a national debate.

Senator Chris Murphy was up next.
And the room shifted the moment he started talking.

The Qatar Plane Controversy

Murphy began calmly, building a factual foundation.

No signed agreement with Qatar.

No publicly disclosed contract for retrofitting.

No credible justification for spending hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars on an aircraft that may only be used for a few months.

And then Murphy dropped the real question:

Why would the American people spend up to a billion dollars on a plane the president says will be transferred to his personal library after he leaves office?

Hegseth kept repeating:
“We’d have to defer to the Air Force.”
“…capabilities remain classified.”
“…there are reasons for modifications.”

But the numbers didn’t make sense.
The timeline didn’t make sense.
The investment didn’t make sense.

Murphy knew it.
Everyone watching knew it.

The Turning Point: January 6

Then Murphy pivoted sharply.

A topic Hegseth clearly did not want to discuss.

Murphy pressed him on the concern millions of Americans have about double standards in how protests — and violent events — are handled.

He asked a simple, direct question:

“Do you support the decision to deploy the National Guard to defend the U.S. Capitol on January 6?”

Silence.
Deflection.
Confusion.

Hegseth tried to change the subject to Los Angeles, to ICE, to unrelated deployments.
Murphy steered him back.

Every. Single. Time.

Finally, Hegseth said it:

“I support the decision that President Trump made…”

But that wasn’t the question.
The decision to deploy the Guard on January 6 was a Department of Defense call, not a presidential order.

Murphy caught it instantly.

“So you do not support the decision to defend the Capitol?”

Hegseth paused — the longest pause of the hearing.

He tried again.
He couldn’t answer directly.
Every attempt contradicted itself.

Murphy delivered the final blow:

“This is exactly why Americans fear a double standard… that you defend against protesters critical of the president, but not against those attacking our democracy on his behalf.”

Hegseth had no response.

The room went cold.

The Authority Question — And Another Stumble

Senator Baldwin followed, drilling into another issue:

What constitutional authority is the administration using to deploy active-duty Marines into California neighborhoods?

Hegseth couldn’t cite it.
He mentioned “constitutional authority,” but couldn’t name the section.
He referenced historical precedent — but not the legal basis.
He promised to “follow up.”

For a Secretary testifying on federal troop deployment, it was another glaring moment of uncertainty.

Why This Hearing Went Viral

Because viewers saw something rare:
A powerful official unable to answer the most critical questions about:

Spending

Authority

January 6

Equal treatment under the law

Deployment of federal troops

No evasions worked.
No talking points saved him.
Senator Murphy kept the questions simple — and the silence from the witness table said more than any answer ever could.