By LOLITA C. BALDOR and TARA COPP
Whereas some Republican lawmakers had a muted response to the announcement, others known as his fight expertise an asset or mentioned he was “tremendously capable.”
Hegseth’s alternative may convey sweeping adjustments to the navy. He has made it clear on his present and in interviews that, like Trump, he’s against “woke” packages that promote fairness and inclusion. He additionally has questioned the function of ladies in fight and advocated pardoning service members charged with struggle crimes.
In June, at a rally in Las Vegas, Trump inspired his supporters to purchase Hegseth’s e-book and mentioned that if he gained the presidency, “The woke stuff will be gone within a period of 24 hours. I can tell you.”
The 44-year-old Hegseth, a staunch conservative who embraces Trump’s “America First” insurance policies, has pushed for making the navy extra deadly. Throughout an interview on “The Shawn Ryan Show” podcast, he mentioned permitting girls to serve in fight hurts that effort.
“Everything about men and women serving together makes the situation more complicated, and complication in combat, that means casualties are worse,” Hegseth mentioned.
And whereas he mentioned range within the navy is a power, he mentioned it was as a result of minority and white males can carry out equally, however the identical isn’t true for ladies.
By opening fight slots to girls, “we’ve changed the standards in putting them there, which means you’ve changed the capability of that unit,” Hegseth mentioned within the podcast interview.
Since then-Protection Secretary Ash Carter opened all fight roles to girls in 2016, girls have efficiently handed the navy’s grueling checks to turn into Inexperienced Berets and Military Rangers, and the Naval Particular Warfare’s check to function a combatant-craft crewman — the boat operators who transport Navy SEALs and conduct their very own categorised missions at sea.
Whereas Trump lauded Hegseth as “tough, smart and a true believer in America First,” others have been fast to level to the TV character’s lack of expertise. Some advised he may very well be Pentagon chief in title solely because the Trump White Home runs the division.
Quite a lot of different names floated as attainable protection selections had included Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., chairman of the Home Armed Companies Committee; retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg; Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa; and Robert Wilkie, a former Pentagon official who was head of the Division of Veterans Affairs in Trump’s first time period.
“There is reason for concern that this is not a person who is a serious enough policymaker, serious enough policy implementer, to do a successful job,” mentioned Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, the rating Democrat on the Home Armed Companies Committee.
Mark Cancian, a senior adviser on the Heart for Strategic and Worldwide Research, mentioned Hegseth’s lack of senior nationwide safety expertise makes it harder to get Senate affirmation.
“I think Trump was tired of fighting with his secretaries of defense and picked one who would be loyal to him,” Cancian mentioned.
Army officers mentioned the selection got here out of the blue. A senior navy officer, who spoke on situation of anonymity as a result of they weren’t approved to speak to the media, mentioned Hegseth’s choice is elevating issues about whether or not he has the sensible expertise to handle a big division with an unlimited price range.
The Protection Division has a price range exceeding $800 billion, with about 1.3 million active-duty troops and one other 1.4 million within the Nationwide Guard, Reserves and civilian workers based mostly worldwide.
If confirmed, Hegseth would face a frightening array of world crises, from the wars within the Center East and Ukraine and the increasing alliance between Russia and North Korea to the rising competitors with China. There’s additionally the necessity to improve the advanced U.S. missile and nuclear protection equipment and make sure the protection business can sustain with America’s want for weapons methods.
Smith mentioned that whereas Hegseth’s fight expertise is a plus, operating the Pentagon requires plenty of different ability units, and his nomination will want a while for consideration.
“What’s your plan? What are you going to do? … How can you assure us that that lack of experience, you know, isn’t going to make it impossible for you to do the job?” Smith mentioned. “I think those are questions that need to be answered over the next couple of months.”
Even some Republicans within the Senate, who would vote on his nomination, had a subdued response.
North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis known as the selection “interesting.” Indiana Sen. Todd Younger, who served within the Marine Corps, mentioned, “I don’t know much about his background or his vision, so I look forward to learning more.”
North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven mentioned he’s not shocked that Trump selected Hegseth as a result of Trump is “close to him and likes him and trusts him.”
“The guy’s obviously tremendously capable, a great communicator,” Hoeven mentioned. “I look forward to getting to know him better.”
Home Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., mentioned Hegseth brings so much to the desk and will likely be “reform-minded in the areas that need reform.”
Based on the Military, Hegseth served within the Guard from 2002 to 2021 as an infantry officer, however shouldn’t be at the moment serving. He deployed to Iraq in 2005, Afghanistan in 2011 and to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 2004. He has two Bronze Stars.
“With Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice — Our Military will be Great Again, and America will Never Back Down,” Trump mentioned in an announcement. “Nobody fights harder for the Troops, and Pete will be a courageous and patriotic champion of our ‘Peace through Strength’ policy.”
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Related Press writers Jill Colvin in New York and Lisa Mascaro, Mary Clare Jalonick and Farnoush Amiri contributed to this report.
Initially Revealed: November 13, 2024 at 12:27 AM EST
