Defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth faced four-plus hours of intense grilling from Senate Democrats at the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday.
In the end, not only was he unscathed, but he demonstrated the "calm under fire" demeanor we expect from a secretary of defense, and in the end, he’ll be confirmed, although probably along party lines.
Hegseth released a written copy of his opening statement, outlining what his three priorities would be if confirmed for the office. They are:
- Restore the Warrior Ethos to the Pentagon and throughout our fighting force
- Rebuild our Military, always matching threats to capabilities
- Reestablish Deterrence
He would work toward his last goal by:
- Defend[ing] our homeland — our borders and our skies
- Work[ing] with our partners and allies to deter aggression in the Indo-Pacific from the communist Chinese
- Responsibly end[ing] wars to ensure we can prioritize our resources
However, as Newsmax TV host Rob Schmitt observed afterwards, Hegseth was "slammed for speaking an offensive truth," namely, that men are more physically capable than women to serve on the battlefield.
He made it clear that he didn’t have a problem having women in the battlefield, so long as the standards weren’t reduced. When lives are at stake, the military is no place for affirmative action, or diversity, equity and inclusion.
Other Senate Democrats claimed Hegseth was grossly unqualified for the position, while still others condemned his reputation for allegedly abusing alcohol, and breaking his marriage vows with a former wife.
Those accusations were waged most vocally by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., of Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., put it all into perspective.
"Let me read to you what the qualifications for the secretary of defense are," he said, and listed them as follows: "In general, the U.S. secretary of defense position is filled by a civilian — that’s it!"
Mullin then addressed the drinking and adultery claims by observing that members of the Senate were holding Hegseth to a higher standard than what they held to themselves.
"How many senators have showed up drunk to vote at night?" he asked, prompting laughter. "And how many senators do you know who have gotten a divorce for cheating on their wives?"
Mullin asked, "Did you ask them to step down" and then called it for what it was — hypocrisy.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., addressed another complaint. He observed that a group of protesters who’d disrupted the proceedings had accused Hegseth of being a “Christian Zionist,” and asked if that was an accurate description.
"Senator, I’m a Christian and I robustly support the state of Israel and its existential defense and the way America comes alongside them is great," Hegseth said. He later added, "I support Israel destroying and killing every last member of Hamas."
Cotton said he felt the same.
Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Montana, who defeated incumbent Democrat Jon Tester in November to win his seat, got down to what he believed were the real qualifications for defense secretary. The staccato questioning went:
- Sheehy: "What is the diameter of the rifle round fired out of an M4 A1 Rifle?"
- Hegseth: "That’s a 5.56 [mm]"
- Sheehy: "How many pushups can you do?"
- Hegseth: "I did five sets of 47 this morning."
- Sheehy: "What do you think our most strategic base is in the Pacific?"
- Hegseth: "In the Pacific? Guam is pretty strategically significant."
- Sheehy: "How many rounds of 5.56 can you fit into a magazine of an M4 rifle?"
- Hegseth: “Depends on the magazine, but standard issue is 30.”
- Sheehy: "What size round does the M9 Beretta sidearm … fire?"
- Hegseth: "9 mm, Senator."
- Sheehy: “What kind of batteries do you put in your night vision goggles?”
- Hegseth laughed and replied: "Duracell?"
That last answer brought laughter throughout the room.
Sheehy concluded, "So right there you’re representing qualifications that show you understand what the warfighter deals with every day on the battlefield. You understand what happens on the front lines where our troops will be.
"And what happens, unfortunately, in those countries, decisions made in rooms like this — bad decisions — end up in dead 17, 18, and 19-year-old Americans."
Then Sheehy recalled that when Hegseth visited his office to introduce himself, the senator asked him one question: if having the backs of his troops would be his number one priority.
Hegseth said it would.
Accordingly, Hegseth will bring a different perspective to the office — one with "dust on his boots" that cares nothing for political correctness, one that’s warrior-based.
It’s a perspective that’s been missing for a long time.
And that’s why he’ll be confirmed and why he’ll be successful.
Michael Dorstewitz is a retired lawyer and has been a frequent contributor to Newsmax. He is also a former U.S. Merchant Marine officer and a Second Amendment supporter. Read Michael Dorstewitz's Reports — More Here.