Hegseth’s Disastrous Confirmation Hearing

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Last Updated on January 22, 2025.

WashingtonWin Without War Executive Director, Sara Haghdoosti, released the following statement following Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth’s confirmation hearing:

“At his confirmation hearing today, Pete Hegseth again showed why he shouldn’t run an e-cigarette shop, much less the E-Ring of the Pentagon. Evasive, ignorant, smug, and bigoted in his responses to questioning, he displayed all the characteristics that make him a darling of the MAGA far right and none that recommend him to get control of a department riven with waste and corruption that gobbles up nearly $1 trillion a year while providing precious little in the way of security for everyday people. 

“Hegseth was wrong on policy, rushing to applaud nuclear arms racing and the use of U.S. troops to carry out racist mass deportation raids while raging against common sense efforts to get violent white supremacists out of uniform. When asked about the basics of the job, he floundered. He couldn’t name a single country in ASEAN, and his estimate for the number of sailors in the Navy was off by nearly 100,000. 

“Most egregiously, Hegseth dismissed the multiple accusations of sexual misconduct against him and under his leadership as lies by the liberal media. The sexual assault and misconduct allegations against Pete Hegseth are well-documented, regardless of what he claims. We believe women, always have and always will. A pattern of sexual misconduct allegations across the span of a decade isn’t a ‘smear campaign,’ it’s disgusting and utterly disqualifying.

“Perhaps most indicative of Hegseth’s approach to the job and the Trump administration’s core modus operandi was his response to Senator Elizabeth Warren’s question about the corrupt revolving door between the Pentagon and defense contractors. Senator Warren rightly praised Hegseth’s position that retired generals should not be allowed to work for defense companies, and then asked Hegseth if he would pledge himself to do the same and avoid a corrupt payday after leaving the Pentagon. He refused to answer. Like the rest of Trump’s MAGA cronies, Pete Hegseth doesn’t really oppose corruption, he just wants his piece of the pie.”

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Win Without War is a diverse network of activists and national organizations working for progressive foreign policy in the United States.

January 15, 2025