Senators on Wednesday offered differing opinions on the possibility of confirming President-elect Donald Trump’s pick Pete Hegseth to lead the Defense Department, as some embraced the selection and others questioned his lack of experience.
Trump caught much of Washington by surprise when he announced Hegseth, a combat veteran and Fox News host, as his choice to lead the DOD, the nation’s largest federal agency responsible for all aspects of the military, despite Hegseth’s lack of a record in management or government positions.
Hegseth worked on the Fox & Friends Weekend program since 2016, according to his LinkedIn profile, and previously worked for advocacy groups Vets for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America.
Hegseth served in the Army National Guard from October 2002 to March 2021, reaching the rank of major, according to a copy of his service record released Wednesday by the Army He deployed three times — first to Cuba’s Guantanamo Bay from June 2004 to April 2005; second to Iraq from September 2005 to July 2006; and third to Afghanistan from May 2011 to January 2012.
In a recent interview on the Shawn Ryan Show podcast, Hegseth said he believes women should not serve in military combat roles, and that any high-ranking officer involved in “any of the DEI/woke shit” should be fired, referring to the agency’s so-called diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Republican senators on the Senate Armed Services Committee will be among the first to formally weigh in on Hegseth’s nomination via confirmation hearing next year. They are all publicly positive about Hegseth, though a few hinted they have concerns, especially about his level of experience.
Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., the top Republican on the committee who is in line to become chairman during the next Congress, told CNN Wednesday he has no concerns about Hegseth’s qualifications and said, “I am delighted at the prospect” of working with him.
But some of the more moderate Republicans on the committee said that, while they like a lot about Hegseth, they are withholding judgment on his nomination.
“He’s got a distinguished time in the military” and was a “decorated soldier,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C. “So I think he’s just got to go through the vetting process and withstand what I’m sure is going to be an interesting murder board in the Senate Armed Services Committee.”
Hegseth must be ready with “good, sound answers” for the committee on his credentials, Tillis said, because the Pentagon “is a large, complex, very, very important agency.”
Tillis said he does not have any concerns “on the surface” about Hegseth’s past positions. But, he added, “There’s a lot of work that’ll go into it between now and the time he actually comes before the committee.”
Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said the Hegseth announcement was “a surprise, just because most of us don’t know him.” But, Rounds said, Hegseth has “been in harm’s way. He’s served overseas. Now it’s a matter of asking him questions, learning more about him, and so forth. And so I’ll go into that with an open mind.”
Rounds said he recognizes that Hegseth lacks experience leading large organizations.
But Rounds said he wants to talk to Hegseth “to actually understand the direction” he wants to steer the Pentagon before reaching a verdict on his nomination.
Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said in interviews that they did not foresee any issues that would hinder Hegseth’s confirmation process. While not members of the Armed Services Committee, their attitude perhaps portends broad support among the Republican conference.
Skepticism among Democrats
Democrats were more guarded in their assessment of the pick, and some said they would reserve judgment until the confirmation process, including a congressional hearing, played out.
Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, who is expected to go from chairman of Armed Services to ranking member in the next Congress, expressed some reservations about Hegseth.
“We’ve got to wait for the nomination and the documentation, but I’m somewhat skeptical,” he said, citing in particular Hegseth’s experience level.
Another Democrat on Armed Services, Sen. Mazie K. Hirono of Hawaii, was slightly more outspoken, saying she has “serious concerns” about the looming Hegseth nomination.
“He would be tapped to run the biggest department in the federal government, with some 750,000 civilian employees,” she said. “How serious is that?”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., obliquely criticized Hegseth. Blumenthal said he wants to make sure that “whoever leads the military has managerial experience and expertise, as well as the right priorities” — including, he said, a commitment to defending Ukraine, which he said he will focus on in his questioning of the nominee on Armed Services.
And Sen. Angus King of Maine, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, was also unenthusiastic about Trump’s choice.
“I haven’t seen a lot that impresses me as qualifications for one of the most complicated and important jobs in the country, if not the world,” King said. “So I’m going to await, as I always do, the hearings and the information. But it’s not a nomination I expected.”
Hegseth’s nomination comes after Trump campaigned on the pledge to purge the military of so-called woke generals. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that an executive order had been drafted that would create under the incoming Trump administration a “warrior board” that would assess the fitness of three- and four-star officers to continue serving in the military.
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