Pentagon officials climb the stairs on March 10, 2026, leaving a secret briefing for members of the U.S. Senate on Capitol Hill. (Ashley Murray/State News)
WASHINGTON – Senate Democrats tasked with overseeing defense left a secret briefing Tuesday irate at President Donald Trump’s war with Iran, as the United States and Israel continue their joint bombing campaign and families prepare to bury seven U.S. soldiers killed in the conflict.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he left the briefing with “more doubt than ever about whether there is clarity about the goals or exit strategy.”
“Frankly, I came away from this briefing as dissatisfied and angry as I have been at any previous briefing in my 15 years in the Senate. I was left with more questions than answers, especially regarding the costs of the war,” Blumenthal said.
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement that since the start of the Iran war, “approximately 140 U.S. troops have been injured in 10 days of sustained attacks.”
“The vast majority of these injuries were minor, and 108 soldiers have already returned to duty,” he said. “Eight service members remain on the critically injured list and are receiving the highest level of medical care.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, asked at a press conference about the Reuters report that as many as 150 US soldiers were injured during the war, replied: “I know it’s crazy,” but she told the Pentagon to provide the exact numbers.
The Pentagon reported that seven US soldiers were killed.
“Most fighters, most bombers”
Military intelligence and defense intelligence officials gave the update behind closed doors to senators shortly after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine said from the Pentagon that Iran should expect “its most intense day of attacks again” on Tuesday.
“Most fighters, most bombers, most strikes – intelligence more refined and better than ever,” Hegseth said.
A secret briefing took place a day later oil prices rose to a peak of $119 a barrel before falling below $90 as Iranian officials effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world’s oil needs flows.
Giving mixed signals On Monday night, (*140*) said the Iran war “will be a short-lived excursion,” but later added that the U.S. military “will not stand down until the enemy is completely and decisively defeated.”
Dems are not sure about the final game
Many Senate Democrats criticized the administration for not appearing before Congress to publicly debate the war.
“We have continued to call for them to leave the classified rooms so that we can have these conversations in an open atmosphere as much as possible,” Sen. Jacky Rosen, R-Nevada, said after leaving the briefing held in a secure compartmentalized briefing room (SCIF) beneath the U.S. Capitol.
“I have to think about what I can and can’t say – it’s disturbing, it’s disturbing and I’m not sure what the final outcome is or what their plans are. They certainly haven’t made their case,” Rosen said.
Sen. Mark Kelly, R-Ariz., said “four people” briefed lawmakers, including a major general and staff from the Joint Intelligence Agency and the Defense Intelligence Agency, two organizations.
Telling reporters that “wild horses” couldn’t get him to discuss the classified briefing, Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said he had not received a request from Democrats, including ranking member Sen. Jack Reed, D-Ill., for an open hearing.
Schumer demands hearings
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., issued a joint news release with Reed and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H. right after a secret briefing in which he demanded public hearings “on Trump’s war of choice.”
“Public hearings with Cabinet-level witnesses have been a standard part of Congressional oversight throughout our history, including in recent military conflicts as well as the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. After all, our founders were clear about Congress’s role in matters of war as representatives of the American people,” the senators wrote.
South Dakota Republican Sen. Mike Rounds said he believed lawmakers were receiving enough information from the administration, but said what happened after the bombings stopped would largely be left to civilians in Iran.
“That’s not our focus,” he said. “We have been focused on eliminating the threat to our citizens in the Middle East and to our allies, and to be able to address threats before they become much more serious in a very short period of time.”
Rounds said he believed that once the war ended, “the Iranian people will have to decide whether they want to join the free world.”
“Iranians are a very smart nation. They are well educated. They can rule their country if the opportunity arises,” he said. “But if they just come to bring in another group of religious fanatics, they’re still going to have problems. And I think they realize that.”
Progress as seen by Montana’s Sheehy
Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren criticized the administration for its lack of clearer goals and exit strategy.
“We are now in our second week of attacks and there are still conflicting descriptions of the targets and conflicting descriptions of how we are going to do this job.” she said.
Montana Republican Sen. Tim Sheehy said he believed the U.S. military had “made tremendous progress” in the first week and a half of bombing.
He said he expected the war to end when the United States and Israel eliminate the regime’s “ability to continue to spread terror around the world and continue to control regional waterways and continue to attempt to kill Americans and our allies, not only in the region but around the world.”
Shaheen, a ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said she hoped the administration would publicly release the results of an investigation into whether the U.S. missile hit near a girls’ school in Iran.
“I hope they will discontinue the investigation,” she said. “I certainly don’t believe there is any deliberate intent to target civilians in Iran in this way, but the fact that there are so many different explanations for what is happening is concerning.”
Jacob Fischler contributed to this report.
