Confident Pete Hegseth says hes fit to be next defense secretary, brushes off misconduct allegations in first Senate hearing
Defense Secretary-designate Pete Hegseth confidently asserted his fitness for the job Tuesday while being grilled by Senate Democrats about allegations of mismanagement, binge drinking and sexual misconduct.Hegseth, 44, declared that President-elect Donald Trump chose him to “restore the warrior ethos to the Pentagon” while fielding rapid-fire questions from both sides of the aisle, especially about allegations stemming from his time as the president of two veterans advocacy groups.“When 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,” Hegseth said in his opening statement.“He, like me, wants a Pentagon laser focused on warfighting, lethality, meritocracy, standards, and readiness.
That’s it.That is my job.”Several sources close to the process told The Post after the hearing that Hegseth was “absolutely” a shoo-in for confirmation after Trump returns to the White House on Jan.
20.At least one person was assured that the Pentagon nom had “improved his standing and did very well today,” despite seeming unanimous disapproval from Democrats — with Sen.Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), an Army vet herself, branding Hegseth a “no-go.”Hegseth repeatedly pledged to rid the Pentagon of “woke” Biden administration policies, such as climate change and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.Asked by Sen.
Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) how he believed US service members would react to such a move, the nominee answered “the troops will rejoice.”“They will love it.They will love it,” Hegseth said.
“And we’ve already seen it in recruiting numbers.There’s already been a surge, since President Trump won the election, of recruiting the Army’s interests.”The defense secretary-designate had been ousted from his own Army National Guard unit and unable to serve at President Biden’s inauguration in 2021, he noted, for having a “Christian ...