President-elect Donald Trump's Defense Secretary-nominee Pete Hegseth, paused by multiple protester outbursts, vowed in his opening statement at his Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday to "restore a warrior ethos" to the U.S. military.
"When President Trump chose me for this position, the primary charge he gave me was — to bring the warrior culture back to the Department of Defense," Hegseth said in his opening statement before the Senate Armed Services Committee, which aired in its entirety on Newsmax and the free Newsmax2 streaming platform.
"He, like me, wants a Pentagon laser focused on warfighting, lethality, meritocracy, standards, and readiness. That's it. That is my job."
Hegseth, facing Democrat obstruction and some Republican skepticism on the committee, outlined three priorities for his Pentagon:
- "Restore the Warrior Ethos to the Pentagon and throughout our fighting force; in doing so, we will reestablish trust in our military — and address the recruiting, retention and readiness crisis in our ranks. The strength of our military is our unity — our shared purpose — not our differences.
- Rebuild our Military, always matching threats to capabilities; this includes reviving our defense industrial base, reforming the acquisition process (no more 'Valley of Death' for new defense companies), modernizing our nuclear triad, ensuring the Pentagon can pass an audit, and rapidly fielding emerging technologies.
- Reestablish Deterrence. First and foremost, we will defend our homeland — our borders and our skies. Second, we will work with our partners and allies to deter aggression in the Indo-Pacific from the communist Chinese. Finally, we will responsibly end wars to ensure we can prioritize our resources — and reorient to larger threats. We can no longer count on 'reputational deterrence' — we need real deterrence."
Hegseth's former experience in the Army National Guard is widely viewed as an asset for the job, but he also brings a jarring record of past statements and actions, including allegations of sexual assault, excessive drinking and derisive views about women in military combat roles, minorities and "woke" generals. He has vowed to not drink alcohol if he is confirmed to lead the Pentagon.
"It's time to give someone with dust on his boots the helm. A change agent," Hegseth told the panel.
He is among the most endangered of Trump's Cabinet choices, but GOP allies are determined to turn Hegseth into a cause célèbre for Trump's governing approach amid the nation's culture wars. Outside groups, including those aligned with the Heritage Foundation, are running costly campaigns to prop up Hegseth's bid.
Hegseth was largely unknown on Capitol Hill when Trump tapped him for the top Pentagon job.
A co-host of weekend cable TV show, he had been a contributor with the network since 2014 and apparently caught the eye of the president-elect, who is an avid consumer of television and the news channel, in particular.
Hegseth, 44, attended Princeton University and served in the Army National Guard from 2002 to 2021, deploying to Iraq in 2005 and Afghanistan in 2011 and earning two Bronze Stars. But he lacks senior military and national security experience.
In 2017, a woman told police that Hegseth sexually assaulted her, according to a detailed investigative report recently made public. Hegseth has denied any wrongdoing and told police at the time that the encounter at a Republican women's event in California was consensual. He later paid the woman a confidential settlement to head off a potential lawsuit.
Hegseth also came under scrutiny amid reports of excessive drinking when he worked at a veterans' organization. But as he began meeting privately with GOP senators ahead of the hearing, he promised he would not drink if confirmed to the post.
If confirmed, Hegseth would take over a military juggling an array of crises on the global stage and domestic challenges in military recruitment, retention and ongoing funding.
Besides being a key national security adviser to the president, the defense secretary oversees a massive organization, with nearly 2.1 million service members, about 780,000 civilians and a budget of roughly $850 billion.
The secretary is responsible for tens of thousands of U.S. troops deployed overseas and at sea, including in combat zones where they face attacks, such as in Syria and Iraq and in the waters around Yemen. The secretary makes all final recommendations to the president on what units are deployed, where they go and how long they stay.
The secretary's main job is to make sure the U.S. military is ready, trained, and equipped to meet any call to duty. But the secretary also must ensure that American troops are safe and secure at home, with proper housing, health care, pay, and support for programs dealing with suicide, sexual assault and financial scams.
Pentagon chiefs also routinely travel across the world, meeting with international leaders on a vast range of security issues including U.S. military aid, counterterrorism support, troop presence and global, coalition building. And they play a key role at NATO as a critical partner to allies across the region.
Information from The Associated Press was used to compile this report.
About NEWSMAX TV:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America!
- Find Newsmax channel in your home via cable and satellite systems – More Info Here
- Watch Newsmax+ on your home TV app or smartphone and watch it anywhere! Try it for FREE – See More Here: NewsmaxPlus.com