U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth joined Iowa Congressman Zach Nunn on the Iowa State Fairgrounds Monday afternoon to honor Iowa veterans and make the case for a 40 percent increase in military spending.
Hegseth was originally scheduled to headline the annual “Operation Top Gun” fundraiser for Iowa’s third district congressman in March, but the event was rescheduled for yesterday (Monday) during the State Fair. Hegseth told the crowd Nunn is a combat veteran who understands the need to invest in the military.
Hegseth says his challenge right now is to ensure the Pentagon is properly funded. “A $1.5 trillion budget is what is necessary to ensure that my kids and your kids, that your grandkids and my grandkids live in a free country defended by the most powerful military in the world,” Hegseth said, to cheers. Nunn honored veterans support organizations and Nunn read aloud the names of the Iowa soldiers who were killed in combat in Kuwait in March. The families of the two Iowa National Guard soldiers who were killed by an ISIS gunman in Syria in December came on stage and Nunn gave each family the Iowa Medal of Merit, a decoration that honors Iowa National Guard soldiers.
Near the end of Hegseth’s remarks, he asked the Gold Star families in the audience to raise their hands, then Hegseth led the crowd in applause.
Nunn told the crowd he’s working to increase troop pay and bring a fighter jet mission back to the Iowa National Guard Air Base, which is currently a command center for unmanned aerial vehicles. Nunn is seeking a third term in the U.S. House this November. Sarah Trone Garriott, the Democrat who’s running against Nunn, says leaders should be focused on ending the war with Iran and she says it was disgraceful for Nunn and Hegseth to campaign together in Iowa while service members are under threat and facing poor conditions overseas.
