Hegseth accused of freezing out Democrats on $1.5 trillion budget — by his own party

Republican senators are criticizing US defense secretary Pete Hegseth for repeatedly excluding Democrats from classified briefings regarding a $1.5 trillion military budget. GOP lawmakers express concern that locking Democrats out of these closed-door sessions on Capitol Hill could jeopardize the passage of Donald Trump's record budget increase. Despite multiple trips to pitch the spending plan, Hegseth's approach has drawn disagreement from members of his own party who believe the exclusion of Democrats is problematic.