Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is continuing to lie about an Iranian drone strike that killed six U.S. service members in early March, and now he’s lashing out at the survivors of the blast too.After the missile struck the troop base, the defense secretary minimized the incident, calling the missile a “squirter” that “happened to hit a tactical operations center that was fortified.”But a month later, multiple anonymous survivors of the blast talked to CBS, and claimed Hegseth was fibbing. As Representative Pat Ryan of the House Armed Services Committee put it on Wednesday:One of our surviving soldiers told CBS “painting a picture that one squeaked through is a falsehood.” Another said the unit was “unprepared to provide any defense for itself. It was not a fortified position.” Another survivor said the building’s protection “was about as weak as one gets.” Secretary Hegseth, that is obviously a direct contradiction of what you said from the Pentagon podium the next day. Are you saying these soldiers, our soldiers, who survived this horrific attack, are lying?Hegseth dodged the question. “Before the commencement of the conflict, we put in maximum defensive posture—”“That’s a direct contradiction to what they said,” Ryan replied.“Can I speak, or are you just going to monologue falsehoods all over the place?” Hegseth said.“It’s not a falsehood.”“We moved 7,500 troops off of the—”“Reclaiming my time. Stop! … I’m reclaiming my time on behalf of these survivors. You just said what they said is a falsehood.”RYAN: Are you saying these soldiers, our soldiers, who survived this horrific attack are lying?HEGSETH: Before the commencement of the conflic--RYAN: Reclaiming my time. Stop! You just said what they said it a falsehood. HEGSETH: There's a much larger picture at play here pic.twitter.com/MHxBM4HeWr— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 29, 2026“There’s a much larger picture at play here,” Hegseth tried to argue, speaking about the efforts of the U.S. to move troops to safety in the region. “We knew there could be a tragic moment where one could get through. Of course, that’s the consequence of conflict.”Ryan pointed out he still hadn’t answered the question.“Don’t play games with raising your voice and pointing your finger,” Hegseth said.“I’m not playing games,” Ryan replied. “I want to finish with one more quote from a survivor.… ‘Telling the truth is important. And we’re not going to learn from these mistakes if we pretend these mistakes didn’t happen. Secretary Hegseth, those soldiers hold the truth. Those soldiers are braver than you are. They are asking for accountability, and they deserve accountability. I’m asking for the same.”Hegseth’s lies about attacks on U.S. troops should be a massive story, similar to how the Pentagon is reportedly covering up recent casualties in the Middle East. But with all the madness in the world right now, it’s easy to get distracted by whatever scandal pops up next. Kudos to Ryan—a veteran himself—for bringing the incident back to light.