Welcome to The Beat. I'm Melissa Murray in for Ari Melburgh, and tonight we are tracking two big stories.

Today, Defense Secretary Pete Hegsseth testified before Congress for the first time since the start of the Iran war.

Hegseh took direct questions about the rationale for the war, the expected timeline, the mounting costs, and more.

Also today, the United States Supreme Court dealt a significant blow to what remains of the

Voting Rights Act. Liberal justices warned that today's decision may sound the death knell for this

landmark civil rights law. But we start tonight with Pete Hegeseth,

testifying before the House Armed Services Committee

amid a deeply unpopular war that is grinding toward a second month.

And the mood was contentious, even before the questioning started.

Protesters confronted Hegeseth on his way into the hearing.

You should be disgusted with yourself.

You have done.

You need to be arresting.

Not to be outdone, Hegsef then used his opening statement to attack the war's critics,

calling them the, quote, biggest challenge. Take a listen.

The biggest challenge, the biggest adversary we face at this point,

are the reckless, feckless, and defeatist words of congressional Democrats and some

Republicans. In return, those reckless, feckless Democrats accused Hegsseth of breathtaking hypocrisy,

namely, accusing his critics of being reckless and feckless, while leading a war that has proceeded in the absence of congressional approval and any clear and point.

Take a listen.

You have been lying to the American public about this war from day one, and so has the president.

The strategy has been an outstanding example of

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