Top Democrat on Armed Services Committee Says Hegseth Lacks ‘Character, Composure, and Competence’ To Lead the Pentagon
Senator Reed noted that he has voted for all of the previous eight defense secretary nominees regardless of party, though this time will mark the first that he does not support the president’s choice.
At the opening of defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth’s confirmation hearing, the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, Senator Reed, slammed Mr. Hegseth for the numerous accusations levied against him with respect to sexual assault and alcohol abuse, raised concerns about Mr. Hegseth’s support for a Navy SEAL convicted of war crimes, and highlighted the nominee’s bombastic political rhetoric.
Mr. Reed said that Mr. Hegseth will be the first nominee for secretary of defense that he will vote against since he first joined the Armed Services panel.
“You are the ninth nominee for secretary of defense that I’ve had the honor of considering as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. I have voted in favor of all your predecessors, including those from the first Trump administration. Unfortunately, you lack the character, the composure, and the competence to hold the position of secretary of defense,” the senior senator from Rhode Island said at the end of his lengthy remarks.
In his opening statement, Mr. Hegseth said he had a simple mission for the Pentagon — to let the military win, and then to bring them home.
“President Trump chose me for this position, the primary charge he gave me was — to bring the warrior culture back to the Department of Defense. He, like me, wants a Pentagon laser-focused on warfighting, lethality, meritocracy, standards, and readiness. That’s it. That is my job,” Mr. Hegseth said.
Before he was even able to finish his statement, Mr. Hegseth was interrupted multiple times by protesters, with one man standing up to call Mr. Hegseth a “misogynist.”
Mr. Hegseth is currently joined in the committee room by a number of friends, family, and supporters. A number of fellow veterans supportive of the nominee lined up early Tuesday morning to get their seats in the public section of the committee meeting room. Mr. Hegseth was also joined by his former Fox News colleague Megyn Kelly, who is the only person to have conducted a sit-down interview with Mr. Hegseth since his nomination was announced in November.
