Democrats hammered defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth at his confirmation hearing on Tuesday, slamming the Fox News host for his sexist views on women in combat, his alleged sexual impropriety, his alleged drinking on the job, and his bad managerial skills
that led to his exit from two veterans charities
.
Their tough questioning came as Republicans handled Hegseth with kid gloves
, protecting him from accountability by limiting questions from senators and by allowing an exceedingly incomplete FBI report to stand as sufficient for his confirmation.
When Kaine asked Hegseth whether it’s disqualifying to show up drunk at work, Hegseth didn’t answer and instead falsely claimed those reports came from anonymous sources. In fact, one of the people who accused Hegseth of workplace impropriety was Jessie Jane Duff, a Marine veteran and former Trump campaign official who in 2016 sought to get Hegseth removed as head of the Concerned Veterans of America group, CBS News reported
.
When Hegseth told Kaine he is “an open book,” Kaine scoffed
, noting that Hegseth’s accusers are under “multiple nondisclosure and confidentiality agreements” that are “tying the hands of many people who would like to comment to us.”
Kaine also brought up
that Hegseth has defied oaths he’s taken in the past, including to be faithful to his wives—of which Hegseth has had three.
“You had just fathered a child two months before by a woman that was not your wife. I am shocked that you would stand here and say you’re completely cleared. Can you so casually cheat on a second wife and cheat on the mother of a child that had been born two months before? And you tell us you were completely cleared?” Kaine said
.
Kaine refused to accept Hegseth’s excuse
that the allegations against him shouldn’t be believed because they were made anonymously, saying that among the people who made the allegations against Hegseth was his own mother
.
“You claimed that this was all anonymous. We have seen records with names attached to all of these, including the name of your own mother. So don’t make this into some anonymous press thing,” Kaine said, basically accusing Hegseth of lying.
Hegseth: Anonymous false charges Kaine: They’re not anonymous.. We have seen records with names attached to all of these including your own mother pic.twitter.com/cfzrEcH0AD
Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona built on that line of questioning, saying Hegseth’s excuses about his drinking and sexual misconduct do not add up
“Which is it—have you overcome personal issues, or are you the target of a smear campaign? It can’t be both. It’s clear to me that you’re not being honest with us or the American people because you know the truth would disqualify you from getting the job,” Kelly said
. “And just as concerning as each of these specific disqualifying accusations are, what concerns me just as much is the idea of having a secretary of defense who is not transparent.”
Meanwhile, Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, a military veteran who lost both of her legs in combat in Iraq, quizzed Hegseth on basic information about the military, and Hegseth could not answer.
Duckworth asked him to name one member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the relationship the United States has with them. Hegseth couldn’t answer.
“I suggest you do a little homework,” Duckworth told Hegseth, later adding
“You’re not qualified, Mr. Hegseth.”
YIKES! Duckworth asks Hegseth to name a country that’s in ASEAN. He names three — none of which are in ASEAN. “I suggest you do a little homework,” she says. pic.twitter.com/Hfxb6iPpNL
Sen. Gary Peters, Democrat of Michigan, brought up the fact that Hegseth has no experience managing massive organizations like the Pentagon, and that confirming him would be akin to lowering the standards for the Department of Defense that Hegseth has railed against
.
“You talk about standards, you talk … that we have a problem of standards in the DOD, and that we have to raise standards for the men and women who serve. Do you think that the way to raise the minimum standards of the people who serve us is to lower the standards for the secretary of defense, that we have someone who has never managed an organization more than 100 people?” Peters said
.
Peters: You talk about standards, you talk about raising, or that we have a problem of standards in the DOD, and we have to raise standards for the men and women who serve. Do you think that the way to raise the minimum standards of the people who serve us is to lower the… pic.twitter.com/zSZFxG6RBt
Democratic Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Elizabeth Warren brought up
Hegseth’s past misogynistic comments
. In particular, on a Nov. 7 podcast, he said, “I’m straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles.” However, since being nominated by Trump, he has had a magical change in point of view, saying that women are qualified for combat.
“What extraordinary event happened in that 32-day period that made you change the core values you had expressed for the preceding 12 years?” Warren said
.
.@ewarren
to Hegseth: You’ve said ‘I’m straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles’ and ‘Women are inferior soldiers.’ What extraordinary event happened in a 32-day period that made you change your values you had expressed for the preceding 12 years? pic.twitter.com/l3ofPZ4NFc
But none of Hegseth’s past comments or behavior seemed to concern the Republicans on the panel, who asked softball questions and even defended Hegseth’s vile conduct.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma went as far as saying that because some members of the Senate drink before casting votes or have cheated on wives, that it’s okay that Hegseth has done the same.
“Sen. Kaine—or I guess I better use ‘the senator from Virginia’—starts bringing up the fact that ‘What if you showed up drunk to your job?’ How many senators have shown up drunk to vote at night? Have any of you guys asked them to step down and resign from your job?” Mullin said. “And then how many senators you know have gotten a divorce for cheating on their wives? Did you ask them to step down? No.”
The problem with Mullin’s logic is obvious: Just because some senators have allegedly acted that way doesn’t render Hegseth’s alleged actions meaningless. Additionally, those lawmakers weren’t nominated to be secretary of defense.
Markwayne Mullin: “Senator Kaine, or I guess I better use the senator from Virginia, starts bringing up the fact that ‘what if you showed up drunk to your job?’ How many senators have shown up drunk to vote at night? … how many senators have gotten a divorce for cheating?” pic.twitter.com/4ErJAm2byz
Ultimately, Democrats laid bare how unqualified Hegseth is to lead the Pentagon.
But Republicans are set to confirm Hegseth anyway, kowtowing to Trump’s demand that they all roll over and accept his deeply unprepared and corrupt nominees.
Godspeed to the Pentagon with this clown at the helm.
House Speaker Mike Johnson will raise the flags at the U.S. Capitol to full-staff for Donald Trump’s inauguration, ignoring U.S. flag code in an effort to coddle Dear Leader.
“On January 20th, the flags at the Capitol will fly at full-staff to celebrate our country coming together behind the inauguration of our 47th President, Donald Trump. The flags will be lowered back to half-staff the following day to continue honoring President Jimmy Carter,” Johnson said
in a statement.
President Joe Biden ordered
the flags to be flown half-staff on Dec. 29, the day Carter died
at the age of 100. Biden’s order adhered to U.S. flag code, which says
that after a current or former president dies, the flag should be lowered for 30 days—which, in Carter’s case, overlaps with Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration.
Of course, displaying a flag at half-staff is still displaying the flag. And there’s precedent for having flags at half staff during an inauguration. The flags were lowered during Richard Nixon’s inauguration in 1973, following the death of former President Harry S. Truman.
But Trump is enraged that because of Carter’s death, the flags would be lowered when he takes the oath of office.
The White House’s flag flies at half-staff for the late President Jimmy Carter on Dec. 29, 2024.
“The Democrats are all ‘giddy’ about our magnificent American Flag potentially being at ‘half mast’ during my Inauguration,” Trump whined on Truth Social
on Jan. 3, incorrectly using the term “half mast,” which applies to flags on ships
. “They think it’s so great, and are so happy about it because, in actuality, they don’t love our Country, they only think about themselves. … Nobody wants to see this, and no American can be happy about it. Let’s see how it plays out. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Clearly, Trump is the one who was really pissed about something as inconsequential as the position of the flags as he’s sworn in. And his GOP lackeys have listened to his childish complaints and are appeasing him by ignoring tradition and U.S. code.
Johnson’s decision followed that of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott
and Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey
, who each announced on Monday that they will raise the flags the day of Trump’s inauguration. They both made the ridiculous excuse that flag code says that flags should be “displayed” on certain important days, such as Inauguration Day, even though a lowered flag is, again, still a displayed flag.
By itself, raising a flag doesn’t have any real negative consequences for the American people. But Trump may make future demands of Republicans that are dangerous or bad for the public—as we learned
he did
on multiple occasions
during his first tenure. And the fact that Republicans are so eager to appease Trump on an issue as minor as this is a worrying sign for how they will react in those future situations.
In a decisive move to Trump-proof California, Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Democrats have secured a groundbreaking $50 million agreement
to bolster the state’s legal defenses. This massive investment is designed to shield state and local governments from President-elect Donald Trump’s potentially harmful policies, with a focus on immigration
and deportation.
Newsom’s proposal designates
$25 million for the California DOJ to fight Trump’s policies in court. State Senate leaders also propose that $25 million be used to help immigrants defend themselves against deportation, detention, and wage theft by funding grants for legal nonprofits and immigration support centers.
This agreement is the first of its kind, and it’s also the latest effort over the past three months
that Democrats have taken in an attempt to buck Trump’s second term in office.
Luke Dexter sifts through the remains of his father’s house, which was destroyed in the Palisades fire.
Meanwhile, California Democrats are being blamed by Republicans for starting a massive natural disaster, including despicable false claims
from right-wing media that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts are responsible for the ongoing wildfires. This has left people worried that Trump will retaliate against Democrats in blue states by withholding aid
once he’s in office—similar to what he did
during his first term.
Republicans in Congress, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, have also hinted that they’re planning to withhold
California aid.
“This funding agreement cements California’s readiness to serve as a bulwark against Trump’s extremist agenda,” said
Senate Budget Chair Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat.
A floor vote on the $50 million agreement could come as soon as this week, giving Newsom time to sign the deal before Trump is sworn into office on Jan. 20.
To avoid publicly contending with the fact that defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth is clearly unqualified to run the Pentagon, Senate Republicans plan to limit questioning at his Tuesday confirmation hearing and accept an inadequate FBI report that didn’t interview people who have accused Hegseth of improper and even illegal behavior.
Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker, the Republican running Tuesday’s hearing, said
he will limit Senators to just one round of questioning—which could ensure that not all of Hegseth’s alleged bad behavior will be litigated during the advice and consent process.
What’s more, Republicans are fine with the fact that, at the behest
of Donald Trump’s incoming administration, the FBI did not interview
people who have accused Hegseth of sexual assault or impropriety, leading to a wildly lacking report.
And Hegseth never attempted to meet with Democrats on the Armed Services Committee, which is in charge of Hegseth’s confirmation hearing.
Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, a combat veteran who lost both of her legs while serving in Iraq, told Time magazine that Republicans lied when they blamed scheduling conflicts for making Hegseth unable to meet with Democrats on the committee.
“[T]here’s no scheduling conflict. I have the receipts,” Duckworth told
Time. “I have an email dated Dec. 18 where his team gives me the date of the week of Jan. 19,” which is after the confirmation hearings.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth speaks during the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 20, 2024, in Chicago.
“He was never planning on meeting with the Democrats prior to this. And we’ve made ourselves more than available,” she added. “So whatever they’re telling you is a fib. “
Democrats are aghast at their GOP colleagues for ramming through Hegseth’s confirmation hearing while ignoring that Hegseth is completely unqualified for the job.
“There are significant gaps and inadequacies in the report, including the failure to interview some of the key potential witnesses with personal knowledge of improprieties or abuse,” Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut told
The New York Times.
And Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in his opening remarks at Hegseth’s confirmation hearing that Hegseth’s personal conduct disqualifies him from the role.
“Mr. Hegseth, I do not believe that you are qualified to meet the overwhelming demands of this job,” Reed said. “We must acknowledge the concerning public reports against you. A variety of sources, including your own writings, implicate you with disregarding the laws of war, financial mismanagement, racist and sexist remarks about men and women in uniform, alcohol abuse, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and other troubling issues. I have reviewed many of these allegations and find them extremely alarming. Indeed, the totality of your own writings and alleged conduct would disqualify any service member from holding any leadership position in the military, much less being confirmed as the secretary of defense.”
Sen. Jack Reed: “I do not believe you are qualified to meet the overwhelming demands of this job. We must acknowledge the concerning public reports… the totality of your own writings & alleged conduct would disqualify any service member form holding any leadership position …” pic.twitter.com/WyURc8KUPg
But even though Republicans are allowing confirmation hearings, it appears Republicans will ensure the hearings are so cursory and undemanding that they may as well have been recess appointments.
It’s possible Republicans are rolling over so fast because Trump’s MAGA backers have spent hundreds of thousands
of dollars to try to claim the credible allegations against Hegseth are merely part of a witch hunt—all in an effort to rile up Trump supporters and sic them against GOP senators skeptical of Hegseth’s nomination.
Look no further than Wicker’s opening statement:
“Regarding his personal conduct, Mr. Hegseth has admitted to falling short, as we all do from time to time. It is noteworthy that the vast majority of the accusations leveled at Mr. Hegseth have come from anonymous sources,” Wicker said
.
Wicker: “Regarding his personal conduct, Mr. Hegseth has admitted to falling short, as we all do from time to time. It is noteworthy that the vast majority of the accusations leveled at Mr. Hegseth have come from anonymous sources.” pic.twitter.com/kA9cCHYwEB
Hegseth, meanwhile, didn’t address any of the allegations of improper behavior against him in his prepared opening remarks
—a sign he believes Republicans will confirm him regardless.
Hegseth’s confirmation hearing began at 9:30 AM ET on Tuesday and can be streamed here
.
