Claim:
U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst confronted Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during a Senate hearing, demanded that he show a Combat Action Badge, revealed that he lied about combat experience and referred him for a "stolen valor" investigation.
Rating:
False (About this rating?)
In early May 2026, a rumor circulated online that U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst exposed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for "stolen valor" during a Senate hearing by asking him to show his Combat Action Badge, causing him to allegedly sit silently for 73 seconds before admitting he had never been in combat.
One YouTube video (archived) spreading the rumor was titled "Joni Ernst (Iraq Combat Vet) DESTROYS Hegseth: 'Show Me Your Combat Action Badge' | He FROZE."
Its narration claimed Ernst pulled out her own Combat Action Badge during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, challenged Hegseth to produce his and then accused him of falsely claiming combat experience. The video also alleged Hegseth's official service record showed no combat badge and that Ernst moved to refer him to the Defense Department inspector general for potential Stolen Valor Act violations.
Other versions of the claim appeared on Threads, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and X, and Snopes readers contacted us to ask whether the rumor was true.
However, the story was fictional and showed signs of being generated with artificial intelligence. We found no evidence Ernst asked Hegseth to show a Combat Action Badge, accused him of "stolen valor" or referred him to the Defense Department inspector general during a Senate hearing. The committee's official hearing information, Hegseth's official government biography and Ernst's own public statement about her questioning did not support the social media story.
The rumor appeared shortly after a real April 30, 2026, Senate Armed Services Committee hearing at which Hegseth testified about the Defense Department's fiscal year 2027 budget request. The committee's official hearing page listed Hegseth as a witness, identified the hearing as a full committee hearing on the defense budget request and said it took place in Room G50 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building — not "Room 216," as the story claimed. Additionally, the story inaccurately referred to Hegseth as the acting deputy secretary of defense.
Ernst participated in that hearing. But own April 30, 2026, statement about her remarks said she pressed the Pentagon to pass a clean financial audit and recognized retired Army Gen. Randy George's service. It did not mention any badge confrontation, stolen valor accusation or inspector general referral.
News coverage of the April 30 hearing likewise described Hegseth being questioned over the defense budget, Iran, military leadership changes and other issues — not a Combat Action Badge exchange with Ernst.
No evidence of exchange in confirmation hearing, either
The official transcript of Hegseth's Jan. 14, 2025, Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing also does not support the rumor. The committee's official page said the hearing was held to consider Hegseth's expected nomination to be secretary of defense.
The transcript showed Ernst questioned Hegseth, but not about "stolen valor," a Combat Action Badge or whether he lied about being in combat. Rather, Ernst said she wanted to address a clean Pentagon audit, women in combat and combating sexual assault in the military.
During that exchange, Ernst said she served more than 23 years in the Army Reserve and Iowa Army National Guard, including deployments in Kuwait and Iraq. She then asked Hegseth whether he would support women continuing to have the opportunity to serve in combat roles if they met high standards. Hegseth answered that women would have access to ground combat roles as long as standards remained high. Ernst's final question concerned sexual assault prevention. She asked whether Hegseth would appoint a senior-level official dedicated to sexual assault prevention and response, and he answered yes.
The words "Combat Action Badge" did not appear anywhere in the official confirmation hearing transcript, and the transcript contained no reference to "stolen valor."
Had a senator produced a military badge on camera, challenged Hegseth to display his own and referred him for a stolen valor investigation, the exchange would almost certainly have generated widespread news coverage or public statements from one of the offices involved. We found none.
What Hegseth's military record shows
The rumor focused on the alleged absence of a Combat Action Badge, which is awarded to certain soldiers who are involved in combat, as proof that Hegseth had "never been in combat."
Hegseth's Defense Department biography said he participated in deployments including Guantanamo Bay, Iraq and Afghanistan, and listed his awards as including two Bronze Star Medals, the Joint Commendation Medal, two Army Commendation Medals, the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Expert Infantryman Badge.
That biography did not list a Combat Action Badge. However, the story's suggestion that not having that specific badge proved Hegseth "never was in combat" was misleading because the biography did list a Combat Infantryman Badge, which is awarded to infantry and special forces who take part in ground combat.
Video shows signs of AI generation
The video's narration contained several signs of invented or AI-generated storytelling. It used several emotional descriptions, including claims about Ernst's tone, Hegseth's facial expressions, the sound of the badge hitting the table and the room supposedly erupting after Ernst's accusation. The narration alleged Ernst told Hegseth, "show me your Combat Action Badge," claimed he sat in silence for "73 seconds," and described a supposed motion to refer him to the Defense Department inspector general for Stolen Valor Act violations.
The narration also included specific details we could not verify, such as a "Room 216" hearing location, alleged Fox News quotations and an unanimous committee referral to the inspector general. None of those details appeared in the official Jan. 14, 2025, confirmation hearing transcript, and the April 30, 2026, hearing page listed the location as Room G50.
Some social media posts spreading the rumor used genuine footage of Ernst and Hegseth from congressional settings, but the existence of real footage did not make the narrated confrontation real.
Bottom line
The story spreading on social media was false. Ernst questioned Hegseth during his 2025 confirmation hearing and participated in an April 2026 defense budget hearing, but we found no evidence she accused him of stolen valor, demanded that he show a Combat Action Badge or referred him to the Pentagon inspector general during either hearing.
The fictional story resembled other AI-generated political rumors that invent dramatic congressional confrontations using real public figures. It relied on cinematic language, highly specific but unsupported details and quotes that did not appear in official hearing records.
We have debunked similar rumors before, including false claims about Vice President JD Vance challenging U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett at a congressional hearing and Barron Trump humiliating U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez during a Senate hearing.
Sources:
- YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLU9BqoAGDc. Accessed 7 May 2026.
Ernst Pushes Pentagon to Pass Clean Financial Audit | U.S. Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa. 30 Apr. 2026, https://www.ernst.senate.gov/news/press-releases/ernst-pushes-pentagon-to-pass-clean-financial-audit.
Ernst Pushes Pentagon to Pass Clean Financial Audit | U.S. Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa. 30 Apr. 2026, https://www.ernst.senate.gov/news/press-releases/ernst-pushes-pentagon-to-pass-clean-financial-audit.
Liles, Jordan. "No, Vance Didn't Try to 'challenge' Jasmine Crockett during Congressional Hearing." Snopes, 14 May 2025, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/vance-crockett-congressional-hearing/.
Open/Closed: To Receive Testimony on the Department of Defense Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2027 and the Future Years Defense Program | United States Senate Committee on Armed Services. https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/hearings/to-receive-testimony-on-the-department-of-defense-budget-request-for-fiscal-year-2027-and-the-future-years-defense-program. Accessed 7 May 2026.
"Trump Signs Bill to End Homeland Security Shutdown, Averting More Airport Disruptions." AP News, https://apnews.com/live/donald-trump-news-updates-04-30-2026. Accessed 7 May 2026.
Winter, Emery. "Don't Fall for Rumor That Barron Trump Humiliated AOC during Senate Hearing." Snopes, 25 Nov. 2025, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/barron-trump-aoc-senate-hearing/.
