Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is not a particularly popular figure on Capitol Hill, as virtually all Democrats and even some Republican lawmakers despise him for his no-nonsense attitude and firm commitment to implementing key aspects of President Donald Trump's policy agenda.

On Wednesday, several Republican senators who dislike Hegseth used the opportunity of an appropriations subcommittee hearing to attack him and the president on a handful of pressing issues, according to The Hill.

Those GOP-pressed issues included questions on the continued funding and support for Ukraine in its war against Russia, the timing and composition of the Pentagon's 2026 budget request, and the administration's fixation on Greenland as part of a broader Arctic strategy, among other things.

McConnell, Graham weigh in

Hegseth appeared on Wednesday before the Senate Appropriations Committee's Defense-focused subcommittee for an hours-long hearing about the Pentagon's budget request for Fiscal Year 2026, where he was sharply grilled by combative oppositional Democrats.

The secretary also faced tough questions from a handful of Republican senators, including Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who decried what he viewed as insufficient support for Ukraine in the budget proposal, and even went so far as to accuse Hegseth and the Trump administration of trying to help Russia emerge victorious from the years-long conflict.

At one point, McConnell stated, "We don’t want a headline at the end of this conflict that says Russia wins and America loses."

McConnell was joined in pressing Hegseth on the Ukraine issue by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who similarly seemed to suggest that the Trump administration was appeasing Russian President Vladimir Putin and downplaying the potential threat posed by Russia against the rest of Central and Western Europe.

Rather predictably, Graham's critiques against Hegseth and the White House included tired comparisons to Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler in the 1930s.

Collins, Murkowski pile on

Also joining in the largely Democratic dogpile on Hegseth during Wednesday's subcommittee hearing was Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), who took exception to the "unacceptably slow" budget proposal that was recently submitted to Congress by the Pentagon.

She also suggested that the budget request, while nominally larger than in previous years, suffered from reduced "buying power" in comparison to prior budgets that were adjusted for higher inflation, which Collins intimated that the Senate may seek to correct before holding a vote.

Another of Hegseth's GOP critics in that hearing was Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), who lambasted the administration's intense focus on Greenland as a key strategic point in the increasingly important Arctic Circle.

Senators' opposition persists

When Hegseth was confirmed in his role by the Senate in January, Vice President JD Vance was needed to cast a vote to break a 50-50 tie on the nominee, even though Republicans held a solid majority in the chamber.

Vance's tie-breaking vote was necessary because three GOP senators had crossed the aisle to join all 47 Democrats in opposition to Hegseth's nomination.

Those three turncoats were Sens. Collins, McConnell, and Murkowski, and based upon their lines of questioning on Wednesday, they still oppose Hegseth being in charge of the U.S. Armed Forces and will continue to dog him and his leadership efforts on necessary and long overdue reforms to the military.