Pete Hegseth, whom President-elect Donald J. Trump has nominated to serve as his secretary of defense, faced a contentious confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday.
Hegseth was pressed by Senators on his qualifications for the job, along with allegations related to his treatment of women and excessive drinking.
Hegseth has admitted to struggling with alcoholism and acknowledged being a “serial cheater” before becoming a Christian and placing his faith in Jesus Christ, whom he has said has helped him reform his life.
“Thank you to my incredible wife Jennifer, who has changed my life and been with me throughout this entire process,” Hegseth said in his opening statement before the committee. “And as Jenny and I pray together each morning, all glory – regardless of the outcome – belongs to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. His grace and mercy abound each day. May His will be done.”
Importantly, if confirmed, Hegseth committed to reinstating all servicemembers who were discharged from the armed services for refusing to take an experimental COVID-19 vaccine. All fired soldiers would receive an apology, full back pay and a reinstatement of their rank.
In response to a question from Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-ND, about politicization within the military, Hegseth replied, in part, “We haven’t even talked about COVID, and the tens of thousands of servicemembers who were kicked out because of an experimental vaccine.”
“In President Trump’s Defense Department, they will be apologized to, they will be reinstituted with pay and rank.”
You can watch a clip of the exchange below:
Hegseth made similar comments in response to a question from Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-MO, confirming President-elect Trump has made the commitment, which Hegseth is dedicated to carrying out:
Hegseth’s comments are timely considering a Florida grand jury report just last week found that, for many healthy young men, “there is credible evidence that the risk of side effects from second doses of BNT162b2 or MRNA-1273 (Pfizer and Moderna’s shots) always outweighed their benefits, even at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
This suggests many members of the military were forced – under threat of being discharged – to take vaccines with side effects that “always” outweighed their benefits.
Hegseth was also questioned by Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-HI, about the U.S. military’s policy of paying for servicemembers to travel to obtain abortions.
The U.S. Department of Defense announced in 2023 it would grant up to three weeks paid time off for servicemembers or dependent family members seeking abortion, and that it would reimburse them for all releated travel expenses.
“Current DOD policy allows servicemembers and eligible dependents to be reimbursed for travel associated with non-covered reproductive healthcare, including abortions. Will you maintain this commonsense policy?” Sen. Hirono asked.
“I’ve always been personally pro-life,” Hegseth responded, “I don’t think the federal government should be funding travel for abortion.”
You can watch the clip below:
During his time allotted for questioning, Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-MT, asked Hegseth how many genders there are.
“There are two genders,” Hegseth replied (even though he’s not a biologist).
Next up, the Senate Armed Services Committee, which has 14 Republican and 13 Democrat members, will vote on whether to move Hegseth’s nomination forward.
If the committee reports his nomination favorably, Hegseth then needs a simple Senate majority vote to be confirmed.
Related articles and resources:
Pete Hegseth: ‘Fathers Chart a Path That Should Lead to Jesus Christ’
U.S. Military to Receive Time Off and Travel Expenses to Obtain Abortions
Military COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Ended, ‘Draft Women’ Provision Removed From NDAA
Photo from Getty Images.
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