Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News personality and right-wing commentator who has said women should not serve in combat roles, has faced allegations of sexual assault and alcoholism during a military purge. Recommended and confirmed by the Senate as Secretary of Defense – beating a vote from Vice President J.D. Vance.
Almost the entire Republican conference supported Hegseth’s nomination, and every Senate Democrat voted against his confirmation, giving it a 50-50 vote. Three Republican senators – Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska opposed Hegseth’s nomination. Collins and Markowski had previously cited concerns about his personal history and lack of experience as disqualifications.
Hegseth was one of the toughest candidates for Donald Trump’s Cabinet due to allegations of sexual assault and workplace misconduct that surfaced over the past two months.
Shortly after Trump announced Hegseth as secretary of defense, extremism experts sounded the alarm about Hegseth’s apparent affinity for far-right symbols. Hegseth himself publicly complained that the U.S. Army denied him service during Joe Biden’s 2021 inauguration after fellow service members flagged him as a potential insider threat. Ta.
In Hegseth’s bipartisan 2020 book, “American Crusade,” he believes the United States is moving toward sectarian violence and argues that the country faces an existential threat from the left. It is written that it is. “You must be thinking,” Pete, you laid this out in very simple terms. Us vs. Them. America versus the left. good and bad. You are overplaying your hand. It’s not that bad,” Hegs wrote. “Read it and think again.”
Before his confirmation hearing, Heggs refused to meet with Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee, prompting concerns about his desire to run the agency in a nonpartisan manner.
At Hegseth’s Jan. 14 confirmation hearing, New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen said that since she joined the committee in 2011, she and her Democratic colleagues have all been there before the hearing. He said he had doubts about Hegus’s desire to do the same thing.
After a report in The New Yorker revealed a day of drinking on the job and reports of Hegseth’s belligerent and drunken behavior, some Republican senators are considering the former Fox News host as a candidate. There seemed to be some skepticism about its feasibility.
Hegstes refused to answer questions about his conduct during the hearing, repeatedly answering questions from Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly about accusations of sexual misconduct and public belligerent drunkenness. “Anonymous Smear”.
“All anonymous, all false and refuted by my colleagues with whom I worked for 10 years,” Kelly said when she pressed him to answer questions about his alleged alcoholism. Hegseth said.
When Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin asked whether he would reject unconstitutional orders and whether he would refuse to deploy troops against U.S. civilians, Hegseth said he “rejects the premise” of the question. I avoided a direct answer.
When asked about his past support for three military officials accused of war crimes, Hegs said that while the Geneva Conventions are the “law of the land,” the “burdensome rules of engagement” imposed by human rights law ” has been admitted.
Heggs also claimed he would bring a “warrior culture” to the Pentagon and emphasized his commitment to unraveling the military’s diversity, equity, and inclusion policies.
Trump’s allies unified behind Hegseth and called for his confirmation, and the small resistance to his nomination within the Republican Party disappeared.
Even Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, a combat veteran and sexual assault survivor who initially had doubts about Hegseth’s nomination, announced that she supported him following his confirmation hearing, saying, Work with Pete to become the deadliest fighting force And he reiterated his commitment to auditing the Pentagon, ensuring opportunities for women in combat while maintaining high standards, and addressing and preventing sexual assault in the ranks. select senior officials to
The Senate vote to confirm Hegseth occurred late Friday. Vance installed Hegseth on Saturday morning.
Hegseth later called the statement on the U.S. Department of Defense’s website “the privilege of a lifetime” and pledged to restore the military’s “warrior spirit.”
“All of this will be done with a focus on lethality, meritocracy, accountability, standards and preparedness,” the Hegs statement said.
