As expected, the Pete Hegseth Senate confirmation hearing got off to a wild start Tuesday, with Democrats and Republicans alike aggressively questioning President-Elect Donald Trump’s Defense Secretary nominee, and far-left protesters occasionally interrupting proceedings because of course they are.
Not surprisingly, Hegseth is getting grilled by some of the female Senators on the Senate Armed Services Committee about his various comments on women serving in combat rules on the frontlines.
In early November, for instance, Hegseth said in an interview that, “… we should not have women in combat roles. It hasn’t made us more effective. Hasn’t made us more lethal. Has made fighting more complicated.”
“Dads push us to take risks. Moms put the training wheels on our bikes. We need moms. But not in the military, especially in combat units,” Hegseth wrote in his 2024 book “The War on Warriors.”
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One exchange in particular from the hearing is receiving a lot of attention.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) seemed to be majorly fauxfended over Hegseth’s prior comments on women in the military as well as his opposition to using DEI/woke “standards” over actual readiness to promote and advance servicemen and women in the United States military:
Women, you’ve denigrated. You’ve also denigrated members of the LGBTQ community. Did you know that when Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was in place, we lost so many crucial personnel — over 1,000 in mission-critical areas? We lost 10% of all our foreign language speakers because of a political policy. You said in your statement you don’t want politics in the DOD. Everything you’ve said in these public statements is political. “I don’t want women. I don’t want moms.” What’s wrong with a mom, by the way? Once you have babies, you’re no longer able to be lethal? It’s a silly thing to say — beneath the position you are aspiring to.
To denigrate LGBTQ service members is a mistake. If you are a sharpshooter, you are lethal regardless of your gender identity or who you love. Please understand this. You said these policies were political. You said they undermined us—social engineering. I don’t see how allowing someone to publicly or privately say who they love is social engineering. The policy of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was highly problematic. Do you agree anybody should be able to serve in the military if they meet the standards?
Here are a couple of clips. Watch as Hegseth calmly listens to her and refuses to be rattled, something that enraged her all the more:
Once Hegseth was given the opportunity to speak, he pointed out that contra Gillibrand’s belief that he’d discriminate against men and women in the military over their political and/or religious beliefs, he’d volunteered to serve in Afghanistan under Democrat President Barack Obama and had volunteered to guard Joe Biden’s 2021 inauguration – but ironically was “identified as an extremist by my own unit” because of his Christian tattoo:
Senator, I volunteered to deploy to Afghanistan under Democratic President Barack Obama. I also volunteered to guard the inauguration of Joe Biden but was denied the opportunity to serve because I was identified as an extremist by my own unit for a Christian tattoo.
Watch:
Hilariously, this might have been the most powerful thing Gillibrand said at the hearing, perhaps ever 😉
There is, of course, a lot more to come from Tuesday’s hearings. As always, stay tuned.
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