Why Pete Hegseth Will Likely Be Confirmed As Secretary of Defense
Almost every administration has one nominee that the opposing party tries to take a stand against during the confirmation hearings. While Trump’s appointment of Matt Gaetz to be Attorney General did not go through, the incoming President has been firm in his support of nominee Pete Hegseth to be the Secretary of Defense. The Pentagon is badly in need of reform. The failed withdrawal from Afghanistan and total lack of accountability within the military show that this once venerated institution had is clearly in decline. The left has also significantly damaged our military by both pushing efforst to try to indoctrinate troops as well as by forcing many decorated men and women out of the force with the absurd and unjustified vaccine mandates.
Trump would have already asked Hegseth to withdraw if the incoming President didn’t think he had the votes to confirm the decorated hero, and the one critical and previous GOP holdout was Senator Joni Ernst from Iowa, who was concerned over previous comments Hegseth had made about women serving in combat. Hegseth committed to Ernst that he would not oppose or restrict the role of women in combat, and he also agreed to have a high-level official in charge of investigating alleged sexual assaults as well. Ernst seemed pleased with Hegseth’s response, and the two had already met at length, leading the Senator from Iowa to change her position and state that she was open to him serving as the next top Pentagon official. Ernst has now agreed to support Hegeseth’s nomination.
Pete Hegseth’s solid resume includes active duty service in leadership roles in both Iraq and Afgahnistan. Hegseth served as a captain in Afghanistan. The Princeton graduate has been in a number of combat roles in the military, but he’s still an outsider in Washington D.C. He fits the agenda that Trump ran on.
The Democrats attacks on this decorated hero lack substance. The three main critiques that the left has of Hegseth focus on his drinking, some sexual assault allegations that never resulted in criminal charges, and his alleged mismanagement of two small non-profit organizations. There was never a single indictment or trial that occurred over Hegseth’s alleged sexual misconduct, and no women are likely to testify against him at the current confirmation hearings in the Senate. The drinking allegations are also unsubstantiated and anonymous claims from nearly 10 years ago. The final attack on Hegseth by Democrats focuses on his alleged mismanagement of 2 small non-profit organizations, Concerned Veterans for America, and Vets for Freedom. The allegations against Hegseth are again anonymous, and these were small advocacy groups. These attacks also focus on Hegseth’s alleged actions over 10 years ago. The financiers of these think tanks have not spoken out against the nominee to be the defense Secretary.
There are no credible allegations of sexual assault or any other criminal misconduct against Hegseth, and his active duty service record in Iraq and Afghanistan in leadership roles is impressive. He has won the Bronze Star, 2 Commendation medals, and also received an infantryman badge. Hegseth is a decorated veteran who should have the support and respect of the rank and file of the US military. The veteran is also an outsider to DC who is focused on wanting to reform the broken Pentagon, which is exactly what Trump ran on this past election.
The attacks and allegations against Pete Hegseth lack substance, and there aren’t likely to be any overwhelming moments at his hearings, since there is unlikely to be any witness testimony against him that carries significant weight. Senator Ernst’s exchange with Hegseth went well, and if the decorated veteran can get the Senator from Iowa’s vote, he should be able to get the narrow support necessary for his confirmation. The former captain should be ready to take over the Pentagon and begin the critically important reforms Trump ran on to fix the damage that Biden and the left have done to our armed forces.
