Press ReleaseNeutral2026-04-30

Chairman Wicker Leads SASC Hearing on the FY27 Budget with Top Pentagon Leadership

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This press release from Senator Roger F. Wicker (R-MS) was published on 2026-04-30 and titled "Chairman Wicker Leads SASC Hearing on the FY27 Budget with Top Pentagon Leadership". It focuses on taxes and touches on the environment, foreign policy.

Full Text

Chairman Wicker Leads SASC Hearing on the FY27 Budget with Top Pentagon Leadership

Secretary Hegseth, General Caine, and Mr. Jules Hurst III Testify Before the Committee Watch Video Here WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today led a hearing to examine the Department of Defense posture for Fiscal Year 2027, focusing on the most dangerous global security environment since World War II, the accelerating military buildup by the Chinese Communist Party, and coordinated threats posed by China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. The hearing also addressed ongoing U.S. military operations, defense modernization priorities, allied burden-sharing, and efforts to strengthen American innovation, deterrence, and warfighting readiness. Secretary Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Daniel Caine, and Jules W. Hurst III, Performing the Duties of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/Chief Financial Officer, testified before the committee. In his opening remarks, Chairman Wicker reemphasized his support for President Trump's $1.5 trillion defense budget request. The Chairman also stressed the need to modernize U.S. military capabilities, strengthen deterrence, and fortify the defense industrial base to ensure a ready and capable force. Read Chairman Wicker's hearing opening statement as delivered. This hearing will come to order. We completed a productive classified session down in the SCIF, and now we will begin the public portion of this hearing. I welcome back Secretary Hegseth, General Caine, and our acting Comptroller Mr. Jay Hurst, and I thank all of them, including their families, for their service. For the dozens of Americans that regularly watch our hearings, my next remarks will be no surprise, but for new viewers, I want to reiterate some context from our remarks. I have said this at almost every hearing. We live in the most dangerous security environment since World War II. Every uniformed officer that has come before this committee has agreed with that statement. First and foremost, we are locked in a competition with Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party. The competition is high stakes, and it is about whether this will be an American-led century or a century defined by authoritarian, autocratic regime that cares little for the needs of their citizens or those in neighboring countries. The Chinese Communist Party has accelerated its historic military buildup and its predatory economic practices against Americans and countries the world over. Xi Jinping leads not only China but also an Axis of Aggressors. This growing alliance cannot be denied. It includes China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea they're united in their goal to oppose America's interests and the interest of other like-minded democratic countries across the globe. Vladimir Putin's war of choice in Ukraine has now entered its fifth year. In Putin's objectives we hear echoes of the imperialistic ambitions of World War II's aggressors, including Adolf Hitler. Vladimir Putin has suffered 1.2 million casualties and failed miserably in his military objectives. Along the way he has transformed Russia's economy into one fueled by war, raising the prospect of an even more aggressive Moscow for the foreseeable future. Most of Iran's leaders are now deceased, but they and those who have survived them have consistently sought violence against America, Israel, our Gulf allies, and the Iranian people. We saw this during the October 7th massacre, during their continued support for Hezbollah and Hamas, and in their desire to engage in nuclear blackmail. Iran's ayatollahs have consistently represented a threat to American interests. Kim Jong Un has joined Putin's war of aggression. He continues a military and nuclear buildup that threatens South Korea, Japan, and the United States. Ties have never been closer among these four dictators, among these four dictatorships. They support each other's aggressive endeavors, they prop each other up financially, and they scheme to undermine America's objectives. We should expect them to continue this behavior. This contest plays out across every dimension of national power - the economy, technology, diplomatic, and more - but today we are here to talk about the military dimension of this competition. These regimes have regularly tried to take by force what they cannot secure through the political process. For that reason, we must be ready to deter conflicts and if necessary to win them. President Trump has used the U.S. military appropriately and effectively for American interests. He has viewed our adversaries as a united bloc and has taken action in light of that reality. In Operation Absolute Resolve and associated statecraft, the President removed an aspiring dictator off the board and set Venezuela up for a future aligned with democratic interests. In Operation Midnight Hammer he sought to eliminate the ayatollahs program. When the Ayatollah chose to double down, the President launched Operation Epic Fury. That mis

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Chairman Wicker Leads SASC Hearing on the FY27 Budget with Top Pentagon Leadership Secretary Hegseth, General Caine, and Mr. Jules Hurst III Testify Before the Committee Watch Video Here WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today led a hearing to examine the Department of Defense posture for Fiscal Year 2027, focusing on the most dangerous global security environment since World War II, the accelerating military buildup by the Chinese Communist Party, and coordinated threats posed by China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. The hearing also addressed ongoing U.S. military operations, defense modernization priorities, allied burden-sharing, and efforts to strengthen American innovation, deterrence, and warfighting readiness. Secretary Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Daniel Caine, and Jules W. Hurst III, Performing the Duties of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/Chief Financial Officer, testified before the committee. In his opening remarks, Chairman Wicker reemphasized his support for President Trump's $1.5 trillion defense budget request. The Chairman also stressed the need to modernize U.S. military capabilities, strengthen deterrence, and fortify the defense industrial base to ensure a ready and capable force. Read Chairman Wicker's hearing opening statement as delivered. This hearing will come to order. We completed a productive classified session down in the SCIF, and now we will begin the public portion of this hearing. I welcome back Secretary Hegseth, General Caine, and our acting Comptroller Mr. Jay Hurst, and I thank all of them, including their families, for their service. For the dozens of Americans that regularly watch our hearings, my next remarks will be no surprise, but for new viewers, I want to reiterate some context from our remarks. I have said this at almost every hearing. We live in the most dangerous security environment since World War II. Every uniformed officer that has come before this committee has agreed with that statement. First and foremost, we are locked in a competition with Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party. The competition is high stakes, and it is about whether this will be an American-led century or a century defined by authoritarian, autocratic regime that cares little for the needs of their citizens or those in neighboring countries. The Chinese Communist Party has accelerated its historic military buildup and its predatory economic practices against Americans and countries the world over. Xi Jinping leads not only China but also an Axis of Aggressors. This growing alliance cannot be denied. It includes China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea they're united in their goal to oppose America's interests and the interest of other like-minded democratic countries across the globe. Vladimir Putin's war of choice in Ukraine has now entered its fifth year. In Putin's objectives we hear echoes of the imperialistic ambitions of World War II's aggressors, including Adolf Hitler. Vladimir Putin has suffered 1.2 million casualties and failed miserably in his military objectives. Along the way he has transformed Russia's economy into one fueled by war, raising the prospect of an even more aggressive Moscow for the foreseeable future. Most of Iran's leaders are now deceased, but they and those who have survived them have consistently sought violence against America, Israel, our Gulf allies, and the Iranian people. We saw this during the October 7th massacre, during their continued support for Hezbollah and Hamas, and in their desire to engage in nuclear blackmail. Iran's ayatollahs have consistently represented a threat to American interests. Kim Jong Un has joined Putin's war of aggression. He continues a military and nuclear buildup that threatens South Korea, Japan, and the United States. Ties have never been closer among these four dictators, among these four dictatorships. They support each other's aggressive endeavors, they prop each other up financially, and they scheme to undermine America's objectives. We should expect them to continue this behavior. This contest plays out across every dimension of national power - the economy, technology, diplomatic, and more - but today we are here to talk about the military dimension of this competition. These regimes have regularly tried to take by force what they cannot secure through the political process. For that reason, we must be ready to deter conflicts and if necessary to win them. President Trump has used the U.S. military appropriately and effectively for American interests. He has viewed our adversaries as a united bloc and has taken action in light of that reality. In Operation Absolute Resolve and associated statecraft, the President removed an aspiring dictator off the board and set Venezuela up for a future aligned with democratic interests. In Operation Midnight Hammer he sought to eliminate the ayatollahs program. When the Ayatollah chose to double down, the President launched Operation Epic Fury. That mis