Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is set to make a high-profile return to Capitol Hill this week to defend President Donald Trump’s fiscal year 2026 defense budget proposal.

This marks his first appearance before lawmakers since his contentious Senate confirmation and comes despite the fact that the full White House defense budget request has not yet been officially released.

Hegseth will face a series of back-to-back hearings before Congress, beginning Tuesday, June 10.

He is scheduled to appear before both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees that day and will testify before the House Armed Services Committee on Thursday, June 12.

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The official topic across all three appearances is the fiscal 2026 defense budget. However, lawmakers are expected to broach a host of controversial issues that have shadowed Hegseth’s tenure.

Democrats, in particular, are preparing to question Hegseth over a range of decisions, including his reported use of non-secure messaging apps during planning for overseas airstrikes, the cancellation of outreach programs aimed at women and minority recruitment, and a series of abrupt dismissals of senior Pentagon officials.

These topics have fueled Democratic accusations of politicization and mismanagement within the Department of War.

Joining Hegseth at each hearing will be Gen. Dan Caine, the new Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

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Caine was appointed by President Trump in February after the sudden and unexplained firing of Gen. CQ Brown. This week’s hearings will mark Caine’s first testimony before Congress in his new role.

Image Credit: DoW

Although full details of the defense budget remain under wraps, congressional leaders say they cannot afford to delay. Senate leaders admitted last week that the final White House proposal might not arrive for several more weeks.

Nevertheless, lawmakers are moving ahead with hearings in an attempt to secure a funding deal before the next fiscal year begins on October 1.

Tuesday’s hearing schedule reflects the urgency on Capitol Hill. At 9:30 a.m., the Senate Armed Services Committee will hear testimony from Navy Secretary John Phelan, Acting Chief of Naval Operations Adm. James Kilby, and Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Eric Smith on their branch-specific budget plans.

Simultaneously, at 10:00 a.m., Gen. Michael Kurilla of U.S. Central Command and Gen. Michael Langley of U.S. Africa Command will brief the House Armed Services Committee on their regional postures and fiscal priorities.

Meanwhile, at 10:00 a.m., Hegseth and Caine will appear before the House Appropriations Committee to provide preliminary defense budget testimony.

They will testify again at 2:00 p.m. before the Senate Appropriations Committee, and later that afternoon, at 3:00 p.m., the House Appropriations Committee will mark up the fiscal 2026 VA and military construction budget bill.

The week continues with more budget-focused hearings. On Wednesday, June 11, the House Armed Services Committee will revisit the Navy and Marine Corps budget at 10:00 a.m.

Later that day, at 3:30 p.m., defense officials will discuss the Army’s munitions industrial base, a critical area of focus as the military modernizes its weapons manufacturing capabilities.

Thursday, June 12, brings another round of crucial testimony. At 9:30 a.m., Gen. Kurilla will again testify—this time before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

At 10:00 a.m., Hegseth and Caine will return to the House Armed Services Committee to continue discussions on the FY2026 defense budget.

Simultaneously, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Senate Appropriations Committee will hold hearings on pending nominations and the Army’s fiscal 2026 budget, respectively.

For Hegseth, the hearings represent not just a defense of a budget, but a broader defense of his leadership at the Pentagon and the policies implemented under the Trump administration.

With tensions already simmering and Democrats poised to challenge him on multiple fronts, his appearances could prove to be among the most closely watched hearings of the summer.

As Congress pushes forward in an effort to reconcile competing budget priorities and meet the October deadline, the hearings will offer the first major public glimpse into the defense priorities of the Trump administration’s second term—and into how willing lawmakers are to support or resist those plans.

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