It is more than doubtful that the pressure from the Democrats, now in the minority in the Senate, will prevent the confirmation as Secretary of Defense of Pete Hegsethhe veteran of the army and Fox News presenter what Donald Trump has nominated to lead the Pentagon in his second presidency. The controversy over that selection, however, was ratified this Tuesday in the confirmation hearing held in the Armed Services Committee of the upper house, the procedure that precedes the formal vote of all senators.
Las tensions They have been deployed from the first moment, when several of the attendees as an audience have been expelled from the room after interrupting and rebuking Hegseth. But it has been the questioning of the candidate by Democrats throughout more than four hours of session which has most underlined the controversy surrounding Hegseth and has served to forcefully deploy the many shadows that accompany him.
Those shadows include a accusation of sexual assault and numerous allegations of alcohol abuseas well as a torrent of statements that Hegseth has made over the years saying that women should not serve in combatquestioning racial minorities in the rows or defending illegal tactics such as torture. Also, doubts about your lack of qualifications and preparation to run a monumental department, with three million employees between uniformed and civilians and 900,000 million dollars budget.
There are also questions, which he did not answer to direct questions this Tuesday, about whether he would be willing to carry out Trump’s orders that are illegal or violate constitutional principleslike the idea that he already expressed in 2020 of shoot protesters in the legs for the murder of George Floyd.
Republicans close ranks
Hegseth has had the support of the senators republicansin majority in the Senate and in control of the committee, which they have closed ranks around him, hinting at firm support when it comes time for the plenary vote, after Trump’s inauguration on Monday, which would guarantee his confirmation. Even Joni Ernst, a conservative senator who had expressed doubts about her candidacy and is a veteran and survivor of sexual assault, has shown signs of being satisfied with Hegseth, who pHe can be confirmed even if all Democrats and independents and up to three Republicans vote against him (Vice President JD Vance would be the tie-breaking vote in his favor in that case).
Democrats had come forward criticizing that the FBI has not done an extensive check of the candidate’s background nor has he questioned all the people who could speak about his past and denounces that there has been a campaign of intimidation and pressure potential witnesses against Hegseth, as well as senators to vote in his favor. The latter are certainly not partisan imaginations. In addition to the fact that Trump has made clear the importance that his confirmation has for him, this Tuesday Charlie Kirk, leader of Turning Point, a conservative youth organization that played an important role in the Republican’s last campaign, has threatened to organize challenges in primaries to any Republican senator who votes against the nominee. Elon Musk He responded to that message with the “100” emoticon, showing his support for the idea.
“Defamations” and redemption
Personally, Hegseth himself has tried to defend himself at the hearing, ensuring that the allegations of sexual and alcohol abuse against him are part of a “anonymous smear” campaign. He has specifically said that this is an “orchestrated campaign” to attack Trump. And he has denounced without evidence that “leftist media who unfortunately do not care about the truth” and who attack him because, he says, he is “a change agent and a threat to them.”
“I’m not a perfect person, but redemption is real and God has shaped me in ways that I know I am prepared”, “I have had failures in my life but I have been redeemed by my lord and savior Jesus“, Trump’s candidate has declared on two of the several occasions in which he has used the argument of redemption and references to faith.
Nothing he has said, in any case, has been enough to convince the Democrats. Former astronaut and senator Mark Kelly, for example, asked him at one point during the hearing: “Which one is it? Have you overcome personal issues or are you the target of a smear campaign? “It can’t be both at the same time.” And Elizabeth Warren, one of several female Democratic senators who have been especially tough on him, has been one of those who has highlighted and questioned Hegseth’s attempts in the last month, since he was nominated for Trump, for qualify or reverse the attacks that it has launched against women’s participation since 2013 in combat positions.
Controversial political positions
If Hegseth takes office, as seems more than likely, Trump will have a important and loyal allywhich has shown in the hearing a clear and total alignment with the agenda of the president-elect and the conservatives.
Hegseth, que At one point he called Russia’s invasion of Crimea a “minor incursion,” has, for example, renewed its attacks on what these conservatives denounce as a “woke” culture that has supposedly prioritized race or gender quotas over merit. Likewise, he has denounced that part of the reluctance of young people to enlist in the Army is due to the fact that, also supposedly, schools no longer teach students to love their country.
