Two GOP senators stated they consider Pete Hegseth may have the votes to be confirmed as the following U.S. protection secretary following a contentious listening to on Tuesday.
Sens. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., and Tom Cotton, R-Ark., joined “The Ingraham Angle” to share their assessments of Hegseth’s path to turning into part of President-elect Donald Trump’s Cupboard.
“I believe, without question, Pete’s going to be confirmed, and I think you’re going to have strong support from all the Republicans, men and women alike,” Mullin stated. “I think he is the right person for the job, and President Trump did a wonderful job by picking him to be the next secretary of defense.”
THE TOP 5 MOMENTS FROM PETE HEGSETH’S SENATE CONFIRMATION HEARING
Pete Hegseth, navy analyst at Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. and US secretary of protection nominee for US President-elect Donald Trump, throughout a Senate Armed Companies Committee affirmation listening to in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg through Getty Photographs (Kent Nishimura)
Mullin additionally praised his Republican colleague, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, for throwing her help behind Hegseth after she initially appeared skeptical about his nomination due to remarks he made about girls in fight and allegations of sexual misconduct. Hegseth denies the allegations.
The previous “Fox & Friends Weekend” co-host stated in a podcast in early November the USA “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,” he stated on an episode of the “Shawn Ryan Show.”
Ernst, a fight veteran herself and sexual assault survivor, met with Hegseth a number of instances main as much as the affirmation listening to earlier than throwing her help behind Trump’s decide to steer the Pentagon on Tuesday night.
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, talks to reporters following the weekly Senate Republican coverage luncheon within the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 14, 2023 in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Photographs)
Cotton instructed Fox Information host Laura Ingraham he believes Hegseth has the votes to be confirmed by the Senate. A vote is anticipated a while subsequent week.
“I hope the Democrats will not delay or otherwise obstruct this nomination. If they want to vote against him, that’s fine, but President Trump deserves to have his secretary of defense on the job properly,” Cotton stated.
He railed towards the hurt of “political correctness” and “social engineering” that’s “run amok” within the navy.
“It’s probably declined recruiting numbers to the point that we’re at a recruiting crisis and it’s harmed readiness. Look, our troops don’t deserve their pronouns on their ID tags. They don’t need to do privilege walks. They don’t have to go through repeated training sessions about diversity, equity and inclusion,” Cotton continued. “What they deserve is hard, realistic training to help prepare them to defend this nation at wartime. The kind of training that Pete Hegseth has conducted and that he’s run.”
The Pentagon is seen from Air Pressure One because it flies over Washington, March 2, 2022. (AP Photograph/Patrick Semansky)
A number of Democratic senators grilled Hegseth on his expertise operating two veteran nonprofit organizations and his alleged monetary mismanagement throughout his time at Involved Veterans for America and Veterans for Freedom.
Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., pressed the navy veteran on his {qualifications} and his expertise in management positions.
“We’re basically hiring you to be the CEO of one of the most complex, largest organizations in the world. We’re the board of directors here,” Peters stated, pointing to his Senate Armed Companies committee colleagues.
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“I don’t think there’s a board of directors in America that would hire you as a CEO with the kind of experience you have on your resume,” he added.
