Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., a retired brigadier general in the U.S. Air Force, hit back on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's comments that returning Ukraine to its pre-2014 border was an "unrealistic objective."
Bacon, a moderate Republican narrowly elected to a fifth term representing Nebraska's Omaha-based second congressional district, responded to comments Hegseth made ahead of a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Brussels on Wednesday.
Hegseth said it was unrealistic to try to return Ukraine's borders to what they were before 2014 — when Russia annexed Crimea — indicating the U.S. will push a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine in which Ukraine cedes territory.
"We should have moral clarity who started this war, who is bombing cities indiscriminately and who our real friend here is," Bacon wrote Wednesday in a post on X.
"There are consequences of rewarding the invader even if its leader foolishly led over 700,000 of its citizens to slaughter."
Hegseth stated, according to the Pentagon, that durable peace in Ukraine can only be established by merging allied strength with a realistic battlefield assessment. He added the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, an alliance of more than 40 nations and representatives from NATO and the European Union, should recognize that it would be an "unrealistic objective" to try to return Ukraine to its pre-2014 borders.
"Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering," he said.
Newsmax reached out to the Pentagon for comment.
Bacon has a history of criticizing Hegseth. In November, he countered Hegseth's proposals to fire the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other "woke" generals because anyone involved with diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts has "got to go."
Bacon said many of those generals might not have wanted to push DEI efforts but were instructed by President Joe Biden to do so.
"He's the commander in chief and they're gonna follow the orders of the civilian leadership proposal," Bacon said, according to The Hill.
Two days after Hegseth's confirmation hearing Jan. 14 in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Bacon expressed reservations about Hegseth's character because of allegations of sexual assault, excessive drinking, and infidelity.
"As a military guy, you want to have your leadership embody the culture that they're leading," Bacon told WOWT-TV in Omaha. "To say that your secretary of defense would have gotten fired for doing some of the behavior he did in his previous life — and I've known generals who have gotten fired for infidelity, for having affairs with subordinates, and they were rightfully fired. And so, that is a concern I have."
Hegseth said at his Senate hearing that the allegations are a "coordinated smear campaign orchestrated in the media" against him and his family.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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