Mike Huckabee, who was recently chosen to be ambassador to Israel by President-elect Donald Trump, told Newsmax Friday that the selection of Pete Hegseth to run the Defense Department will put an end to the "social experiment" that the U.S. military has become the past four years.
"Nobody cares" about how many transgender or lesbian soldiers there are, Huckabee said, only that the U.S. military is ready to fight and defend the country.
Huckabee told "Rob Schmitt Tonight" Hegseth is Ivy League-educated, "combat-tested," and a "soldier's soldier." But, Huckabee said, his best title might be disruptor.
"I think he's going to be just as disruptive, which needs to happen at the DOD. They've been so focused on being woke and being diverse that nobody wants to join them," Huckabee said.
"And the recruitment levels are at an all-time low. Why is that?
"Because they focused not on being a great military force, but on making sure they could check the boxes of how many women, how many transgender, how many lesbians they had in the military. Nobody cares about any of that stuff," he said.
"The military has always been a meritocracy. It's never been some social experiment."
"So if Pete Hegseth goes in and gets rid of some of these folks who politically got their jobs rather than for military capacity, God bless him. Good for him," Huckabee told host Rob Schmitt.
"And you and I both know Pete. He's a heck of a guy.
"I think he's wonderful in the job. I'm thrilled that the president had the guts to put someone like that there," he said.
Huckabee had similar things to say about Matt Gaetz, nominated by Trump to be attorney general.
"I'm thrilled with these appointments so far, because every one of them pretty much are disruptive. These are not people who go in to just oil the machinery that's already running," he said.
"They want to come in and make some serious, positive changes so these agencies start working for the good and working for the American people rather than working for somebody's left-wing agenda."
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Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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