During his confirmation hearing, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth repeatedly insisted he is not a racist nor a misogynist, but wants "a Pentagon laser focused on warfighting, lethality, meritocracy, standards, and readiness." Despite his bellicose Christianity, however, Donald Trump's appointee had no problem violating the biblical commandment against bearing false witness. As soon as he was sworn in, Hegseth did exactly the opposite of what was promised. He and Trump have devalued merit, expunging experienced and dedicated military leaders for no real reason other than they are not white men. Hegseth demanded budget cuts. He backed Trump's refusal to send older weapons to Ukrainian fighting forces, allowing the U.S. military to update its stockpile. He's gone along with Trump's war on intelligence-gathering on Russia, which puts American troops at higher risk. He's supported Elon Musk's war on veterans, as well, which includes firing them from federal jobs and slashing 80,000 employees from Veterans Affairs.
Instead, Hegseth's priority — the better word is "obsession" — since taking office has been pushing the racism, misogyny, and queerphobia he denied during his confirmation hearing. Under the guise of eliminating "DEI" (short for "diversity, equity and inclusion," but used as a slur word by the right), Hegseth has waged all-out war on any evidence that people who aren't straight white Christian men can be effective soldiers. On top of purges of military leadership, Hegseth has canceled all military observances of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Pride Month, Holocaust Days of Remembrance and any other occasion acknowledging the contributions of people who aren't straight white Christian men. He's also been on a rampage against military bases that dropped the names of Confederate leaders. Being pro-slavery is enough to exonerate literal treachery in Hegseth's view.
