Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing criticism from Republican lawmakers for excluding congressional Democrats from classified briefings on the Pentagon’s record $1.5 trillion budget proposal, a move that even GOP senators say could undermine his effort to secure the spending increase.
Hegseth has made at least two trips to Capitol Hill in recent weeks to pitch the budget, but has repeatedly excluded Democrats from the closed-door sessions, according to lawmakers from both parties, according to Politico and The Guardian.
Senator Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, argued that the approach is self-defeating. “He calls himself the secretary of war, but ironically, he doesn’t want to go to war and win the argument with nearly half the members of the Senate,” Tillis told Politico. “You got to engage.”
The Pentagon’s strategy reflects the Trump administration’s broader hyperpartisan approach to Congress. Pentagon officials told Republican lawmakers they fear classified material would leak if Democrats are included, according to Politico. But senior Republicans argue that bipartisan engagement is essential, particularly when Democratic votes are needed to pass the legislation.
Much of next year’s defense budget will still require Democratic support to pass, even if Republicans use the reconciliation process—a special legislative procedure that allows the GOP to bypass the normal 60-vote threshold—to fund portions of the spending increase and the ongoing Iran war. Senate Democrats have vowed to boycott the funding bills entirely, meaning Hegseth’s exclusion of the party’s congressional representatives could backfire on the administration’s own spending priorities this fall, according to Politico.
Senior Democrats who hold top spots on national security panels said the exclusion breaks from years of congressional protocol. “Not only are they excluding Democrats from classified briefings, they’re also not having the kind of routine briefings with committee staff on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that have been the hallmark since I got here 18 years ago,” said Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the panel’s top Democrat, according to Politico.
Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, the top Democrat on the defense spending panel, said several Republican lawmakers had implored Hegseth to engage with Democrats, warning that the party would not be responsive to funding requests if excluded from briefings, according to Politico.
The exclusion reflects a pattern that emerged earlier in the Trump administration. In October 2025, Democrats were excluded from a classified briefing on U.S. military strikes in the Caribbean, prompting complaints from senior senators including Mark Warner of Virginia, who demanded that Pentagon officials share intelligence on the operations, according to Roll Call and CNN.
A former defense official told Politico that banishing Democrats from classified briefings was “extremely short-sighted” because “you have got to have bipartisan majorities over a longer period of time to really build defense capability.” The official warned that if the House flips Democratic control in future elections, “Pentagon leaders will have nobody to work with, because they have not built any relationships.”
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the department “remains fully committed to working with Congress to ensure our warfighters have the resources necessary to execute their mission,” and that Hegseth and other Pentagon leaders “regularly engage with lawmakers to discuss the defense budget, readiness, and national security priorities,” according to Politico.
Sources
- Politico — reporting on Pentagon exclusion of Democrats from classified briefings, Republican concerns, and quotes from Tillis, Rounds, Murkowski, Shaheen, Coons, and a former defense official
- The Guardian — reporting on Hegseth’s exclusion of Democrats from budget briefings and Republican criticism
- Roll Call — reporting on October 2025 exclusion of Democrats from classified briefing on military strikes
- CNN — reporting on October 2025 classified briefing exclusion and Democratic response
