The Illinois Democrat countered Hegseth's curious refusal to name Russia as the aggressor in the Ukraine war with his own work as a former Fox News host.

Hegseth is hardly the only prominent Republican official who has dodged the question since President Donald Trump outrageously claimed that Ukraine “started” the war. Mike Waltz, Trump’s national security adviser, also repeatedly refused to answer the question.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz both refused to call Russia the aggressor in the Ukrainian war, in separate interviews three years after Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion.

Two of President Donald Trump’s top advisers declined to describe Russia as the aggressor in the war in Ukraine, as the administration seeks Vladimir Putin’s support for a peace deal.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth joins ‘Fox News Sunday’ to discuss the Trump administration’s efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war and changes at the Pentagon.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said of potential negotiations to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine that "everything is on the table." "I want to be clear about something as it pertains ...

By Eric Schmitt and John Ismay Reporting from Washington Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ... chips with Russia off the table. “There is no betrayal there,” Mr. Hegseth said.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s overseas trip started with heckling from ... the hapless Pentagon chief publicly said it was “unrealistic” to think Russia wouldn’t keep portions of Ukraine it took by force. He added that Ukrainian membership ...

Hegseth, 44, demanded a proposal that would include annual 8% cuts to the Pentagon’s roughly $850 billion budget, according to a memo.

Donald Trump backed up Pete Hegseth's statements on Ukraine not joining NATO after being asked whether he told Hegseth to "walk back" his comments.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's attention-grabbing overseas debut may have irritated some key Republicans and alienated allies in Europe, where his statements on Ukraine and NATO went down like a lead balloon.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other allies of President Trump won't state a plain fact about the war. Politics has a way of making simple truths harder to tell.