US Senator Murphy says Pentagon denied him access to US base in Qatar

Democratic US Senator Chris Murphy stated that the Pentagon denied him access to the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar during a Middle East visit, alleging a deliberate effort to conceal the costs and implications of the Iran war from Congress and the American people. Murphy described the denial as unprecedented in his Senate tenure. A Pentagon official cited a travel directive as the reason.

Democratic US Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) alleged on Tuesday that the Pentagon denied him access to the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar during a Middle East visit, describing it as part of a broader government effort to conceal the impact of the Iran war from Congress and the American people. The Al Udeid base, the largest US facility in the region, has been repeatedly attacked by Iran since the US and Israel launched the war in February. Murphy, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, stated he had never encountered such obstruction in his Senate tenure and called it an active, unconstitutional campaign of obfuscation. A senior Pentagon official responded that Murphy's office had been informed before the trip that he would not receive department support to access the base, consistent with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's March 3, 2026, directive restricting travel to the area. The official said the guidance is applied evenly. Murphy contrasted the Pentagon's stance with that of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who facilitated his visit and arranged diplomatic meetings. During the trip, Murphy met with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, among other senior Gulf officials. Many members of Congress, including some Republicans, have been pressing the Trump administration for more information on the war's costs, strategy, and casualties.