The Hegseth Conjecture, the Senate Judgment, and the Defense Secretary/CIO Correspondence on “Anonymous Smears”
Mr. Hegseth’s selection by President Trump and the confirmation process were complicated by a claim of sexual assault and accusations of abusive behavior, public drunkenness and fiscal mismanagement of two nonprofit veterans groups.
The only previous time a vice president broke a tie on a Cabinet confirmation was during the first Trump term when Vice President Mike Pence cast a vote to confirm Betsy DeVos, who became education secretary.
Murkowski and Collins voted against Hegseth, citing the allegations and his lack of executive experience. If four Republicans had voted with Senate Democrats to oppose Hegseth it would have sunk the nomination.
Mr. Trump contemplated dropping Mr. Hegseth but he was resisted by senators in both parties. But Mr. Trump dug in. During his confirmation hearing, Mr. Hegseth called the allegations against him “anonymous smears.”
The former Fox News host has vowed to bring his “warrior” ethos to the Defense Department, which he believes has been weakened by “woke” generals.
Roger Wicker is the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and he said that he thinks he could be a good fit at the Pentagon.
In order to be the secretary of defense, it’s important that you have a top-shelf person to communicate with. No one else besides the president plays a bigger role in telling people about the threats we face and the need for a peace-through-strength defense policy.
Hegseth has said he wants to restore lethality to a military he described as “woke” with diversity equity and inclusion (DEI) programs he claims have taken the place of a focus on war fighting. He pledged to make sure promotions are based on merit alone and not what he incorrectly describes as quotas for women and minorities.
At his recent confirmation hearings to lead the Pentagon he was challenged over his allegations of a quota system. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., holding a copy of the current military standards for men and women serving in the infantry, said, “Commanders do not have to meet quotas for women in the infantry. That does not exist. Your statements create the impression that these exist. They don’t.
He criticized the commanders of the Pentagon, including the Joint chiefs of staff, including the first woman to lead the Navy, and the second African American man to hold the job.
The first thing you have to do is fire the chairman. “If any general that was involved in any of the DEI woke s**t, they have got to go,” he said on the Shawn Ryan Show.
The comments sent shock waves through the Pentagon, which was concerned that Hegseth would fire senior officers. In the waning days of the first Trump administration, senior officers tried to get their own replacements in charge according to The Melting Point, which was the former top officer at U.S. Central Command.
“This was over politicization of the officer corps,” McKenzie wrote, “and no single thing could have been more dangerous to the future of the U.S. military than a scheme like this.” There were no proposed personnel changes.
“I’m straight-up just saying we should not have women in combat roles,” he said. “It hasn’t made us more effective, hasn’t made us more lethal, has made fighting more complicated.”
Women have been eligible for ground combat jobs since 2016. There are nearly 4,000 women serving in the Army. About 700 women are in Marine ground combat units.
Hegseth told the Senate armed services committee that every service member should be able to compete for jobs in that field regardless of their gender.
“In those ground combat roles, what is true is that the weight of the ruck on your back doesn’t change, the weight of the 155 round that you have to carry doesn’t change, the weight of the 240 Bravo machine gun you might have to carry doesn’t change. He said that regardless of their sex they have to meet the same high standards.
HeGSeth has charged that standards have been lowered to allow more women into Army ground combat units. Hegseth has pledged to review the standards as secretary.
Hegseth will provide military assistance to the southern border. The US has sent some 1,500 active duty troops there to build barriers and help with border patrol. Pentagon officials say thousands more troops are expected to be sent in the coming weeks and months.
Pete Hegseth Is Confirmed Defense Secretary by Slim Margin: The United States and NATO Spending Less on Defense
The relationship between the United States and NATO members will probably be one of the issues that comes up. The alliance has been criticized by Trump for not spending enough on their own defense and recently was told to spend five percent of their GDP on defense. The US spends less on defense now than it has in the past.
Ms. Hegseth said after the vote that she had submitted her affidavit only because she had been assured that it would sway key votes. “There are many reasons women are reluctant to come forward, by name, and tell the truth about a powerful man like him,” she said. Women will be less forthcoming because of what happened today.
Mr. McConnell stressed that in his estimation, Mr. Hegseth had not demonstrated a sufficient understanding of national security challenges to handle the job of defense secretary, which he called “the most consequential cabinet official in any administration.”
Opponents of Mr. Hegseth’s confirmation had fervently hoped to win over a fourth Republican, Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina. Mr. Tillis had promised to look into the allegations against Mr. Hegseth. He voted in favor of confirmation when he appeared to be wavering.
“Pete has a unique perspective as a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and is unquestionably passionate about modernizing our military and supporting the brave patriots like himself who serve our nation,” he said in a statement explaining his choice. He added that he would “look forward to working with him to rebuild our military and advance President Trump’s peace through strength agenda.”
Source: Pete Hegseth Is Confirmed as Defense Secretary By Slim Margin
A Correspondence with Chuck Hagel, John G. Tower, and Jack Reed: “The war is back” and “the truth is out there”
There have been exceptions. Chuck Hagel, a former Republican senator, won a narrow victory in 2013 despite opposition from 41 members of his own party over his skeptical views on the Iraq war. John G. Tower, the nominee of President George H.W. Bush, was defeated in a 47-to-53 vote in 1989 amid allegations of alcohol abuse and womanizing.
Mr. Hagel resigned under pressure after two years in office. Mr. Trump fired Mr. Esper in a social media post after 18 months on the job.
The wife of Mr. HeGSeth has denied that he ever physically abused her. During a background interview, a Trump transition official told the leadership of the armed service committee that Mr. Hegseth drank too much and continued to do so.
Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the armed services panel, who was briefed on the findings, said reporters’ characterizations of the findings were “true and accurate.” Senator Roger Wicker, Republican of Mississippi and the panel’s chairman, who was also briefed, called those characterizations “starkly and factually inaccurate.”
And on Thursday, the office of Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, shared written answers to questions she put to Mr. Hegseth, in which he disclosed that he paid $50,000 to a woman who accused him of sexual assault in 2017.
The top Democrat on the armed service panel, Jack Reed of Rhode Island, said in a statement that he was going to watch him like a hawk. I am going to demand accountability.
The chairman of the armed services panel, Senator Roger Wicker, was the one who said peace through strength is back under President Trump and Pete Hegseth.