(The Center Square) – For more than four hours Tuesday, Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth fielded questions regarding both his professional qualifications and personal character during a heated hearing before the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee.
An Ivy League-educated, decorated veteran who served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and as a guard at Guantanamo Bay, Hegseth also ran two veteran-serving nonprofits and was a host on Fox News.
But he has garnered backlash for his financial management of those nonprofits, making multiple controversial statements about women and LGBT people serving in the military, questioning the modern applicability of the Geneva Conventions, and facing allegations of on-the-job drunkenness and sexual assault
Hegseth claimed the slew of allegations against him are “a coordinated smear campaign” by the left media. He pledged to promote “meritocracy, lethality, and readiness” and cut any “woke” DEI or climate change initiatives within the Department of Defense and military, should he be confirmed.
“We can no longer count on reputational deterrence, we need real deterrence,” Hegseth told the committee in his opening statement. “And in pursuing these America First national security goals, we’ll remain patriotically apolitical and stridently constitutional, unlike the current administration. Politics should play no part in military matters.”
Some lawmakers questioned his sincerity, with U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., mentioning that Hegseth’s past statements about female soldiers being unfit to serve in combat roles show he plans to inject politics into the Defense department, rather than remove it.
Hegseth clarified that he does not oppose women serving in combat roles; rather, he was critiquing the lowering of standards for female soldiers in some areas. His position, he said, is that the military should always maintain high, gender-neutral fitness standards.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., seemed unconvinced.
“Well, I appreciate your eleventh-hour conversion,” she jabbed.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., asked Hegseth how he plans to effectively manage the finances of the DOD – currently funded at $850 billion a year – after failing twice in the past with his own nonprofits, which saw annual shortfalls and debts.
Hegseth responded that the nonprofits had accomplished real policy changes on behalf of veterans, adding that he had resolved all debts in a timely manner.
U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., testified in support of Hegseth, saying that while Hegseth is an “out-of-the-box nominee” who “has struggled and overcome personal challenges,” he is still the best man for the job.
U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., agreed, praising Hegseth’s “warrior ethos” and arguing that an unconventional change in leadership is needed. Waltz is not part of the committee and spoke before senators started questioning Hegseth.
“The bottom line is, the status quo is unacceptable. It’s not working,” Waltz said, referencing failed Pentagon audits, diving recruitment numbers, and increasing national conflict over the past four years. “This is a man that will lead.”
