<div class="css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn" data-testid="companionColumn-0"><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">The defense secretary and the Democratic congressman had, in many respects, led parallel lives.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">Pete Hegseth and Representative Seth Moulton of Massachusetts both graduated from <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/12/us/politics/hegseth-iran-war.html" title="">Ivy League</a> <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2014/02/citizen-soldier" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="">colleges</a> and volunteered to fight in Iraq. Both pushed for more troops and a better strategy for that war in 2006 as violence spiked and Americans turned against it.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">Now they were sitting across from each other in a House hearing room debating the war with Iran.</p></div><aside aria-label="companion column" class="css-ew4tgv"></aside></div><div data-testid="VideoBlock-1"><figure aria-label="media" class="sizeMedium css-1es9ub3" data-testid="VideoBlock"><div class="css-1xb94ky" style="position:relative"><span class="css-1dv1kvn">Video</span><nyt-betamax><template shadowrootmode="open" slotassignment="named"><cript type="application/json">{"fit":"cover","play":false,"muted":false,"loop":false,"visibleOnPageLoad":false,"enableWakeLock":true,"aspectRatio":"3:2","src":[{"src":"https://vp.nyt.com/video/2026/05/01/168331_1_02vid-hegseth-moulton-69845_wg_1080p.mp4","type":"mp4","height":1080,"width":1620},{"src":"https://vp.nyt.com/video/2026/05/01/168331_1_02vid-hegseth-moulton-69845_wg_720p.mp4","type":"mp4","height":720,"width":1080},{"src":"https://vp.nyt.com/video/2026/05/01/168331_1_02vid-hegseth-moulton-69845_wg_480p.mp4","type":"mp4","height":480,"width":720},{"src":"https://vp.nyt.com/video/2026/05/01/168331_1_02vid-hegseth-moulton-69845_wg_360p.mp4","type":"mp4","height":360,"width":540},{"src":"https://vp.nyt.com/video/2026/05/01/168331_1_02vid-hegseth-moulton-69845_wg_240p.mp4","type":"mp4","height":240,"width":360},{"src":"https://vp.nyt.com/video/hls/2026/05/01/168331_1_02vid-hegseth-moulton-69845_wg/master.m3u8","type":"hls","specificQuality":1080},{"src":"https://vp.nyt.com/video/hlsfmp4/2026/05/01/168331_1_02vid-hegseth-moulton-69845_wg/master.m3u8","type":"hlsfmp4","specificQuality":1080},{"src":"https://vp.nyt.com/video/2026/05/01/168331_1_02vid-hegseth-moulton-69845_wg_av1-1080p.mp4","type":"mp4_av1","height":1080,"width":1620},{"src":"https://vp.nyt.com/video/2026/05/01/168331_1_02vid-hegseth-moulton-69845_wg_av1-720p.mp4","type":"mp4_av1","height":720,"width":1080},{"src":"https://vp.nyt.com/video/2026/05/01/168331_1_02vid-hegseth-moulton-69845_wg_av1-480p.mp4","type":"mp4_av1","height":480,"width":720},{"src":"https://vp.nyt.com/video/2026/05/01/168331_1_02vid-hegseth-moulton-69845_wg_av1-360p.mp4","type":"mp4_av1","height":360,"width":540},{"src":"https://vp.nyt.com/video/2026/05/01/168331_1_02vid-hegseth-moulton-69845_wg_av1-240p.mp4","type":"mp4_av1","height":240,"width":360}],"captions":"https://vp.nyt.com/video/2026/05/01/168331_1_02vid-hegseth-moulton-69845_wg_1080p.vtt","durationInSeconds":96,"startTime":0,"trackingData":{"contentId":"100000010876287","mData":{"videoName":"","analyticsId":"https://www.nytimes.com/video/embedded/us/politics/100000010876287/02vid-hegseth-moulton-69845.html","videoUri":"nyt://video/aca98866-68a2-5790-8948-83284c4e66b4","playerType":"nyt-betamax","videoType":"video","aspectRatio":"3:2","videoSection":"Story"}},"onTimeUpdate":{"callOnce":true,"trigger":3}}</script><link crossorigin="" href="https://static01.nyt.com/video-static/betamax/player-0.2.44-CnxAEwcy.css" rel="stylesheet"/><div aria-label="Video player" class="_container_128fk_5 container-target _fit-cover_128fk_59" data-testid="betamax-player" role="group" style="--video-aspect-ratio:1.5;"><div class="_video_128fk_26"><video crossorigin="anonymous" data-testid="betamax-video" disablepictureinpicture="" playsinline="" preload="none"><source src="https://vp.nyt.com/video/hlsfmp4/2026/05/01/168331_1_02vid-hegseth-moulton-69845_wg/index-f1-v1-a1.m3u8" type="application/vnd.apple.mpegurl"/><source src="https://vp.nyt.com/video/hls/2026/05/01/168331_1_02vid-hegseth-moulton-69845_wg/index-f1-v1-a1.m3u8" type="application/vnd.apple.mpegurl"/><source media="(min-resolution: 3x) and (min-width: 540px), (min-resolution: 2x) and (min-width: 810px), (min-width: 1620px)" src="https://vp.nyt.com/video/2026/05/01/168331_1_02vid-hegseth-moulton-69845_wg_av1-1080p.mp4" type='video/mp4; codecs="av01.0.04M.08, mp4a.40.2"'/><source media="(min-resolution: 3x) and (min-width: 360px), (min-resolution: 2x) and (min-width: 540px), (min-width: 1080px)" src="https://vp.nyt.com/video/2026/05/01/168331_1_02vid-hegseth-moulton-69845_wg_av1-720p.mp4" type='video/mp4; codecs="av01.0.04M.08, mp4a.40.2"'/><source media="(min-resolution: 3x) and (min-width: 240px), (min-resolution: 2x) and (min-width: 360px), (min-width: 720px)" src="https://vp.nyt.com/video/2026/05/01/168331_1_02vid-hegseth-moulton-69845_wg_av1-480p.mp4" type='video/mp4; codecs="av01.0.04M.08, mp4a.40.2"'/><source media="(min-resolution: 2x) and (min-width: 270px), (min-width: 540px)" src="https://vp.nyt.com/video/2026/05/01/168331_1_02vid-hegseth-moulton-69845_wg_av1-360p.mp4" type='video/mp4; codecs="av01.0.04M.08, mp4a.40.2"'/><source media="(min-resolution: 2x) and (min-width: 180px), (min-width: 360px)" src="https://vp.nyt.com/video/2026/05/01/168331_1_02vid-hegseth-moulton-69845_wg_av1-240p.mp4" type='video/mp4; codecs="av01.0.04M.08, mp4a.40.2"'/><source media="(min-resolution: 3x) and (min-width: 540px), (min-resolution: 2x) and (min-width: 810px), (min-width: 1620px)" src="https://vp.nyt.com/video/2026/05/01/168331_1_02vid-hegseth-moulton-69845_wg_1080p.mp4" type="video/mp4"/><source media="(min-resolution: 3x) and (min-width: 360px), (min-resolution: 2x) and (min-width: 540px), (min-width: 1080px)" src="https://vp.nyt.com/video/2026/05/01/168331_1_02vid-hegseth-moulton-69845_wg_720p.mp4" type="video/mp4"/><source media="(min-resolution: 3x) and (min-width: 240px), (min-resolution: 2x) and (min-width: 360px), (min-width: 720px)" src="https://vp.nyt.com/video/2026/05/01/168331_1_02vid-hegseth-moulton-69845_wg_480p.mp4" type="video/mp4"/><source media="(min-resolution: 2x) and (min-width: 270px), (min-width: 540px)" src="https://vp.nyt.com/video/2026/05/01/168331_1_02vid-hegseth-moulton-69845_wg_360p.mp4" type="video/mp4"/><source media="(min-resolution: 2x) and (min-width: 180px), (min-width: 360px)" src="https://vp.nyt.com/video/2026/05/01/168331_1_02vid-hegseth-moulton-69845_wg_240p.mp4" type="video/mp4"/><source src="https://vp.nyt.com/video/2026/05/01/168331_1_02vid-hegseth-moulton-69845_wg_240p.mp4" type="video/mp4"/><track data-testid="betamax-caption-element" default="" kind="captions" label="English" src="https://vp.nyt.com/video/2026/05/01/168331_1_02vid-hegseth-moulton-69845_wg_1080p.vtt" srclang="en"/></video></div><slot></slot></div></template><nyt-betamax-cover><template shadowrootmode="open" slotassignment="named"><cript type="application/json">{"visibleWhen":["before-play"]}</script><link crossorigin="" href="https://static01.nyt.com/video-static/betamax/cover-0.2.44-eTrf0IGY.css" rel="stylesheet"/><div class="_cover_1tuif_6" data-testid="betamax-cover"><slot></slot></div></template><nyt-betamax-poster><template shadowrootmode="open" slotassignment="named"><cript type="application/json">{"url":"https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/05/01/02vid-hegseth-moulton-69845-cover/02vid-hegseth-moulton-69845-cover-threeByTwoLargeAt2X.jpg"}</script><link crossorigin="" href="https://static01.nyt.com/video-static/betamax/poster-0.2.44-BdueiXaE.css" rel="stylesheet"/><img class="_poster_13tnt_20" data-testid="betamax-poster" src="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/05/01/02vid-hegseth-moulton-69845-cover/02vid-hegseth-moulton-69845-cover-threeByTwoLargeAt2X.jpg?auto=webp&amp;quality=30&amp;disable=upscale&amp;format=pjpg"/></template></nyt-betamax-poster><div class="css-1sh4nm2"></div><span class="css-srmsuq"></span></nyt-betamax-cover><nyt-betamax-overlay-controls><template shadowrootmode="open" slotassignment="named"><cript type="application/json">{"showDuration":true}</script><link crossorigin="" href="https://static01.nyt.com/video-static/betamax/overlay-controls-0.2.44-BN-qu2gk.css" rel="stylesheet"/><link crossorigin="" href="https://static01.nyt.com/video-static/betamax/share-button-0.2.44-L0OSgS9i.css" rel="stylesheet"/><div class="_container_gk23c_16" data-testid="betamax-overlay-controls"><slot></slot><div class="_play-button-container_gk23c_107 _paused_gk23c_155"><button aria-label="Play" class="_play-button_gk23c_107"><div class="_play-button-inner_gk23c_239 _paused_gk23c_155"><span class="_icon_gk23c_136 _play_gk23c_107"></span></div></button><div class="_duration_gk23c_264" data-testid="betamax-overlay-controls-duration">1:36</div></div></div></template></nyt-betamax-overlay-controls><nyt-betamax-ads><template shadowrootmode="open" slotassignment="named"><cript type="application/json">{"adReq":{"edn":"us","path":"29390238/nyt","typ":"video"},"env":"production","mediaAds":true,"mediaId":"100000010876287","mediaRatio":"3:2","mediaSection":"us","mediaSeries":"","mediaSubsection":"politics","mediaTimesTags":[],"playlist":null,"ppid":""}</script><link crossorigin="" href="https://static01.nyt.com/video-static/betamax/ads-0.2.44-C_YVzzUG.css" rel="stylesheet"/></template></nyt-betamax-ads></nyt-betamax></div><figcaption class="css-ktho12 e3rygrp0"><span class="css-zd521y"><span class="css-1dv1kvn">Credit</span><span class="css-iwa86d e1z0qqy90"><span class="kyt-mdd4r">Credit...</span><span>U.S. House Armed Services Committee</span></span></span></figcaption></figure></div><div class="css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn" data-testid="companionColumn-1"><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">Mr. Moulton pressed Mr. Hegseth to consider that the unpopular war, now entering its third month, could drag on for years and cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">Mr. Hegseth dismissed the notion as absurd.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">“On the battlefield, it has been an astounding military success,” he said at the Wednesday hearing.</p></div><aside aria-label="companion column" class="css-ew4tgv"></aside></div><div data-testid="Dropzone-3"></div><div class="css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn" data-testid="companionColumn-2"><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">“But are we winning the war?” Mr. Moulton asked skeptically.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">“Absolutely,” Mr. Hegseth replied.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">Both men were debating the Iran conflict through the prism of Iraq, a war they supported on the battlefield and in <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/15/opinion/15moulton.html" title="">newspaper</a> <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2007/07/017878.php" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="">editorials</a> before they concluded that it had all been a tragic waste. Mr. Moulton <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/magazine/03IRAQ-t.html" title="">commanded</a> a Marine Corps rifle platoon on the march to Baghdad and later served as an embedded adviser to Iraqi troops. Mr. Hegseth <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/12/us/politics/hegseth-iran-war.html" title="">led an Army infantry platoon</a> in Samarra as Iraq descended into civil war.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">“I recoiled the first time I heard then-candidate Donald Trump call it a ‘stupid war,’” Mr. Hegseth <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.amazon.com/War-Warriors-Behind-Betrayal-Keep/dp/0063389428" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="">wrote</a> in 2024. “But objectively he was right.”</p><div class="css-kbghgg"><div class="css-121kum4"><div class="css-171d1bw"></div><div class="css-asuuk5"><noscript><div class="css-7axq9l" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-noscript"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="css-1b5b8u1" data-tpl="i" height="24" viewbox="0 0 24 24" width="24"><path clip-rule="evenodd" d="M2.5 12a9.5 9.5 0 1 1 19 0 9.5 9.5 0 0 1-19 0Zm8.5 1.75v-7.5h2v7.5h-2Zm0 2v2h2v-2h-2Z" fill="currentColor" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg><div class="css-6yo1no" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-noscript-message"><p class="css-3kpklk" data-tpl="t">We are having trouble retrieving the article content.</p><p class="css-3kpklk" data-tpl="t">Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.</p></div></div></noscript><div class="css-1dv1kvn" id="optimistic-truncator-a11y" tabindex="-1"><hr/><p>Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and <a href="https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2026%2F05%2F02%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Fhegseth-moulton-iran-war.html&amp;asset=opttrunc">log into</a> your Times account, or <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2026%2F05%2F02%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Fhegseth-moulton-iran-war.html">subscribe</a> for all of The Times.</p><hr/></div><div class="css-1g71tqy" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-content"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="css-63woee" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-spinner" data-tpl="sp" height="24" viewbox="0 0 24 24" width="24"><g fill="currentColor"><path d="M11.28 22.8a.72.72 0 1 0 1.44 0v-6.72a.72.72 0 1 0-1.44 0v6.72Z" opacity=".37"></path><path d="M17.766 21.16a.72.72 0 1 0 1.165-.846l-3.95-5.436a.72.72 0 1 0-1.165.846l3.95 5.437Z" opacity=".26"></path><path d="M1.506 14.653a.72.72 0 0 0 .445 1.37l6.391-2.078a.72.72 0 1 0-.445-1.369l-6.39 2.077Z" opacity=".61"></path><path d="M5.07 20.314a.72.72 0 0 0 1.164.847l3.95-5.437a.72.72 0 1 0-1.165-.846l-3.95 5.436Z" opacity=".48"></path><path d="M22.049 16.022a.72.72 0 0 0 .445-1.37l-6.391-2.076a.72.72 0 1 0-.445 1.37l6.39 2.076Z" opacity=".17"></path><path d="M22.494 9.347a.72.72 0 1 0-.445-1.37l-6.391 2.078a.72.72 0 1 0 .445 1.369l6.39-2.077Z" opacity=".09"></path><path d="M6.234 2.84a.72.72 0 0 0-1.165.846l3.95 5.436a.72.72 0 0 0 1.165-.846l-3.95-5.437Z" opacity=".87"></path><path d="M1.951 7.978a.72.72 0 1 0-.445 1.37l6.391 2.076a.72.72 0 1 0 .445-1.37l-6.39-2.076Z" opacity=".74"></path><path d="M18.93 3.686a.72.72 0 0 0-1.164-.847l-3.95 5.437a.72.72 0 0 0 1.165.846l3.95-5.436Z" opacity=".02"></path><path d="M12.72 1.2a.72.72 0 1 0-1.44 0v6.72a.72.72 0 0 0 1.44 0V1.2Z"></path></g></svg><div class="css-6yo1no" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-message"><p class="css-3kpklk" data-tpl="t">Thank you for your patience while we verify access.</p><p class="css-3kpklk" data-tpl="t">Already a subscriber? <a class="css-z5ryv4" data-testid="log-in-link" href="https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2026%2F05%2F02%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Fhegseth-moulton-iran-war.html&amp;asset=opttrunc">Log in</a>.</p><p class="css-3kpklk" data-tpl="t">Want all of The Times? <a class="css-z5ryv4" data-testid="subscribe-link" href="https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2026%2F05%2F02%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Fhegseth-moulton-iran-war.html">Subscribe</a>.</p></div></div></div></div></div></div><aside aria-label="companion column" class="css-ew4tgv"></aside></div>