The Senator Mitch McConnell who is older than history itself and yet is still into politics:

- We don't want the headlines at the end of this conflict to say, 'Russia won and America lost.' In terms of the money we spend, what is the return on investment in our security assistance to Ukraine?

Pete Hegseth:

- Senator, I just want to say that with President Trump's approach, this is definitely not the right headline. We are in a situation now where Vladimir Putin knows that President Trump is strong, he knows that his word means something. As a result, a peaceful resolution in Ukraine makes America strong, shows that we understand the situation in the world and what we want to focus on - even if we understand that Russia is the aggressor, and we support the efforts of the Ukrainians. There comes a time when you have to face the reality on the battlefield and understand that the best solution is a negotiated settlement to stop the killing and the slaughter. And our budget reflects that.