Democrats’ Hegseth Hearing Theatrics Prove They’re Unserious About U.S. National Security
The Senate Armed Services Committee held a confirmation hearing for Pete Hegseth’s defense secretary nomination on Tuesday, and as expected, Democrats tried to turn it into a high-wire circus.
Throughout the more than four-hour-long proceeding, the committee’s leftist members used every available opportunity to slander Hegseth and make complete fools of themselves.
Sen. Tim Kaine. D-Va. — Hillary Clinton’s 2016 running mate — tried to perform a disgraceful morality stunt about the sanctity of marriage, while Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., huffed about “qualifications” and posed failed “gotcha” questions. And who could ignore the screeching, despicable tirades from the committee’s female Democrat senators, many of whom proudly displayed their unhinged obsessions with sending women into combat?
Contrast this with the behavior of Republican senators, who largely asked questions related to issues impacting America’s military. Hegseth answered inquiries about topics such as the service’s recruiting crisis, military infrastructure problems, the harmful impact of neo-Marxist ideologies on military readiness, and more. Unlike their Democrat colleagues, many of these GOPers garnered answers from Hegseth on matters of importance to everyday Americans.
But Democrats’ dismissal of critical issues affecting U.S. national security isn’t surprising. They’ve regularly ignored military and security-related problems caused by the Biden administration to protect their political interests.
Democrats didn’t care when the Biden administration left billions of dollars worth of military equipment in Afghanistan that was later acquired by the Taliban; or allowed a Chinese spy balloon to float across the continental United States and collect data from military bases; or fired more than 8,400 service members for not getting the Covid shot; or put the lives of service members in jeopardy with its failed Gaza pier stunt; or left the southern border wide open; or did nothing of consequence when Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin went MIA for days and didn’t tell the White House; or committed numerous other blunders during the past four years.
Democrats’ Tuesday theatrics had nothing to do with their supposed concerns about Hegseth’s character or “qualifications” and everything to do with their opposition to the systemic reform he’ll bring to the Pentagon.
Unlike his predecessors, Hegseth is not beholden to the military-industrial complex. He’s a man from outside the system who has fought in the forever wars many politicians and bureaucrats sitting in air-conditioned offices in D.C. don’t have the courage to fight, and he understands the frustrations of the service members who have been failed by this lack of leadership.
Much to Democrats’ dismay, Hegseth’s nomination promises bold, long-overdue reforms. This includes rooting out DEI, firing incompetent and “woke” officers, ensuring U.S. tax dollars are put to good use, and reviving a service that prospective recruits will want to join. In essence, he wants to make America’s military “great again.”
Democrats’ antics are an outward display of their opposition to an outsider running the Pentagon (or any government agency, for that matter). It doesn’t matter if Hegseth’s confirmation produces a more efficient force and victories in war. What matters most to them is protecting the status quo, and they will say or do anything to do just that.
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
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