Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth defended his tenure and outlined his priorities for the department this week during three separate hearings on Capitol Hill.

He faced difficult questions from the House and Senate Appropriations subcommittees on defense and the House Armed Services Committee, ranging from the limited details available for next year’s budget to the department’s acceptance of a Qatari aircraft to be retrofitted as Air Force One, and the deployment of National Guard troops and active-duty Marines to Los Angeles.