Pete Hegseth’s first congressional hearing as Defense Secretary was supposed to focus on budgetary matters, but the former soldier was not going to miss an opportunity to strike fear into the hearts of America’s enemies — in this case, a few hundred protesters in Los Angeles.
In his opening statement to the House Appropriations subcommittee, Hegseth delivered a made-for-Hollywood monologue about the U.S. military’s new “warrior ethos,” one that is focused squarely on “war fighting” and “lethality.”
