U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth went toe-to-toe with Kentucky GOP Sen. Mitch McConnell during a tense Senate Appropriations hearing Tuesday.

The back-and-forth heated up quickly after McConnell asked about the Trump administration’s stance on the war between Russia and Ukraine.

The grilling comes as the Trump administration’s attitude to the Russia-Ukraine conflict appears to have shifted dramatically, from sanctions threats and bold pledges of quick settlement to a posture of disengagement and transactional diplomacy.

Trump has increasingly shown a willingness to remove the United States from any leading role in the peace effort, which has irritated allies.

Following a phone call in late May between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump reportedly informed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders that the United States would no longer participate in new sanctions efforts against Russia, in stark contrast to earlier rhetoric implying that only he and Putin could broker a ceasefire.

Trump and Zelensky’s relationship has also been publicly strained since their Oval Office encounter earlier this year, which grew heated.

During Wednesday’s session, McConnell, a long-time hawkish foreign policy voice, showed mainstream Republican concerns over Ukraine policy by grilling Hegseth to obtain a clear picture of the administration’s position, asking him openly who he wanted to win the conflict.

Below is a transcript of the exchange between Trump and McConnell:

MCCONNELL: It probably won’t surprise you, but I’m going to start with Ukraine. And I’m gonna ask you a series of questions but I don’t want you to linger on any one of them but answer the series of questions in one answer. Number one, who’s the aggressor and who’s the victim in the conflict?

HEGSETH: Russia’s the aggressor.

MCCONNELL: Which side do you want to win?

HEGSETH: As we’ve said time and time again, this president is committed to peace in that conflict. Ultimately, peace serves our national interests, and we think the interests of both parties, even if that outcome will not be preferable to many in this room and many in our country.

MCCONNELL: Which side is President Xi pulling for?

HEGSETH: Well, as was stated by both of you, we obviously understand, unfortunately, under this administration and the policy, excuse me, under the previous administration and the policies they pursued, it has driven Russia and China closer together. So there’s no doubt that China would prefer that Vladimir Putin have a good outcome, but it would also prefer a prolonged conflict that would keep us and other countries tied down and incapable of paying attention to the malign influence of China elsewhere.

A sizeable majority of Americans back President Trump’s handling of the Russia-Ukraine war, according to new polling data from CNN.

In addition, far more Americans support Trump’s approach to the conflict than those who supported now-former President Biden’s handling of it.

“So I think the easiest way we can kind of just ask this is, do Americans like the way that Trump is handling his job, and compare it to how they felt about Joe Biden,” CNN data analyst Harry Enten said during a show segment on Monday.

“So this is the net approval rating. You look at Joe Biden back in 2024, he was 22 points underwater. Holy cow. You look at Donald Trump. It‘s just a different planet entirely. I mean, the gulf between these two is wider than the Gulf of America or Mexico, depending on which side of the aisle you stand on. He‘s at plus-two,” Enten continued.

“So, look, at this particular point, Americans are giving Donald Trump the benefit of the doubt. He‘s doing considerably better than Joe Biden was doing on the handling of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. And so on this simple question, I think Americans are saying, ‘Okay, Donald Trump is doing all right on this,’” he said.