Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ignored military officials when he gutted a Pentagon oversight office designed to limit the risk of civilian deaths in war. Then the U.S. killed thousands of Iranian civilians amid its war with Tehran. The results of the war were apparently beyond explanation during a Senate Armed Service Committee hearing Thursday, when Hegseth stumbled trying to rationalize his decision to nix the critical department during a heated exchange with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.“Let’s talk about how you’re prosecuting the war. What is your response to targeting that has resulted in the destruction of schools, hospitals, civilian places? Why did you cut—by 90 percent—the division that’s supposed to help you not target civilians? And do you know the impact of a strategic failure in a war when you have so many civilian casualties?” pressed Gillibrand.“You may have tactically completed a mission well, but strategically [it] is not meeting your goals because of the casualties,” the New York lawmaker stressed. “What is the cost of that?”But Hegseth did not have an answer for her. Instead, he ducked the line of questioning entirely, opting to repeat a vague principle rather than address the fallout of his decisions.“No military, no country, works harder at every echelon to ensure they protect civilian lives than the United States military,” Hegseth said. “And that is an ironclad commitment that we make, no matter what systems we use.”“Well then why did you cut the department by 90 percent?” repeated Gillibrand before Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker—the committee’s Republican chairman—cut her off.Hegseth has no response to Gillibrand's question about why he cut the Pentagon division that's supposed to help the US military avoid targeting civilians pic.twitter.com/Vq04GEA2vp— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 30, 2026The war has killed at least 1,701 civilians in Iran, according to an analysis by the Human Rights Activists News Agency released last week. That figure is even higher in Lebanon, where Israeli strikes have killed more than 2,496 people, according to the Lebanese health ministry. The war has also claimed the lives of 13 U.S. service members throughout the region.Meanwhile, the ongoing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has caused a global energy crisis, choking off a critical tradeway for the Middle Eastern oil trade. In the U.S., the lagging oil and gas deliveries have caused transportation costs to surge, affecting virtually every commodity on the market. At the time of publication, the average cost for a gallon of gas was above $4.30, according to a AAA analysis. In some areas of California, such as San Francisco, Napa, and San Jose, gas was at least $6 per gallon.The economic consequences have sparked concerns within the Republican Party—and in the White House—that the wildly unpopular war could bode poorly for conservatives and their majority in Washington come November.