Watch Live: Hegseth questioned amid $1.5 trillion budget request

Politics Watch Live: Hegseth, Caine face congressional committees amid $1.5 trillion Pentagon budget request By Caroline Linton Caroline Linton Associate Managing Editor, Politics Caroline Linton is an associate managing editor on the political team for CBSNews.com. She has previously written for The Daily Beast, Newsweek and amNewYork. Read Full Bio Caroline Linton May 12, 2026 / 8:00 AM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine are appearing Tuesday before the House and Senate subcommittees that oversee Pentagon budget requests as the Trump administration is seeking $1.5 trillion amid the Iran war. Hegseth and Caine will appear in back-to-back hearings before the House and Senate Appropriations subcommittees that oversee defense spending. The $1.5 trillion fiscal year 2027 budget proposal, which serves as a starting point for negotiations with Congress over annual spending, would mark a 42% increase in defense spending from 2026 levels.President Trump said Monday that the ceasefire in Iran is "on life support" after he called the latest Iran peace proposal "totally unacceptable." Mr. Trump told CBS News that he aims to suspend the gas tax amid soaring gas prices. Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, who is on the Senate Appropriations Committee, called the $1.5 trillion number "outrageous." "When I got to the Senate five and a half years ago, the defense budget was just over $700 billion," Kelly said Sunday on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan." "Now they're asking for twice as much money — it's nearly the amount that the rest of the world pays for its defense."The Trump administration continues to face backlash for not getting the Iran war approved by Congress. While several war powers resolutions have failed to advance, two Republicans – Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski — have raised concerns about the operation's authori...