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Bannon`s War Room
Episode 4193: Bringing Warrior Ethos To Defense cont.
Episode 4193: Bringing Warrior Ethos To Defense cont....
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- [00:01]
Pete Hegseth
Thank you, Senator Shaheen. At this point, I would ask unanimous consent to enter into the record five letters of support from female service members and combat veterans who support Mr. Hegseth's nomination. These women represent diverse viewpoints, from a retired colonel with over 25 years of service to an active duty Navy surface warfare commander to a senior airman. They support Mr. Hegseth and comment on his focus on merit, war, fighting readiness, military training status, and the warrior ethos. So without objection, it will be entered into the record. And now I'm honored to recognize Senator Cotton for seven minutes.
- [00:49]
Senator Tom Cotton
Mr. Hegseth, let's continue on this line of questioning about what's sometimes referred to as women in combat. I think that phrase is something of a misnomer. Many members of this committee have served in combat in the last 25 years to include women and men. I'm sure all those men served with women, whether they were military police officers or they were pilots, or whether they were intelligence analysts or medics or what have you. You served, I assume you served with women who were on the front lines as well. Is that correct?
- [01:20]
Pete Hegseth
Yes, sir.
- [01:21]
Senator Tom Cotton
And were those women anything other than skilled, brave and honorable in their service?
- [01:25]
Pete Hegseth
They were some of the best soldiers I worked with.
- [01:27]
Senator Tom Cotton
So women have been serving in combat for a long time. Women have even been serving in combat units like infantry battalions for a long time in roles like medics or mechanics or what have you. So what we're talking about here specifically is women in ground combat roles in jobs like infantrymen or artillerymen or special forces. Until about 10 years ago, that wasn't the case under Secretary Panetta, those roles were opened up to women to serve in. Has President Trump indicated at all that he plans to rescind or alter that guidance?
- [02:02]
Pete Hegseth
You're correct to point out, Senator, that these are the decisions, what they do.
- [02:05]
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
Let me just explain to you. I should have done it earlier. I'm sorry.
- [02:07]
Pete Hegseth
He has not indicated me to me that he has plans to change whether or not women would have access to these roles. However, I would point out if ensuring that standards are equal and high is of importance to him and great importance to me, because in those ground combat roles, what is true is that the weight of the ruck on your back doesn't change. The weight of the 155 round that you have to carry doesn't change. The weight of the 240 Bravo machine gun you might have to carry doesn't change. And so whether it's a man or a woman, they have to meet the same high Standards. And Senator, in any place where those things have been eroded or in courses, criteria have been changed in order to meet quotas, racial quotas or gender quotas. That is putting a focus on something other than readiness standards, meritocracy and lethality. So that's the kind of review I'm talking about, not whether women have access to ground combat.
- [03:07]
Senator Tom Cotton
Okay, so thank you. So you expect no change that guidance. But as you point out, in these specific jobs there are irreducible physical demands. We expect our intelligence analysts and our mechanics to be physically fit in the military. But it's different when you're in the infantry or the artillery. You just mentioned a few things. Let me point it out. An artillery shell weighs almost 100 pounds. An Abrams tank round weighs around 50 pounds. The M240 Bravo machine gun with its tripod weighs almost 50 pounds. The average weight of a full kit ammo, water combo body armor for a soldier is over £100. Nothing you can do can change any of those things. Right? That is physical reality.
- [03:54]
Pete Hegseth
Go ahead. Yes, Senator. And I would say the requirements to handle those things in a ground combat unit, as far as standards, can look different than those of a medic or a drone pilot. And, and so it's not that it has to be the same standard throughout it's standards to maximize efficacy of that particular position.
- [04:11]
Senator Tom Cotton
Let me read a quote here from one army officer. While it may be difficult for a 120 pound woman to lift or drag 250 pounds, the army cannot artificially absolve women of that responsibility. It may still exist on the battlefield. The entire purpose of creating a gender neutral test was to acknowledge the reality that each job has objective physical standards to which all soldiers should be held, regardless of gender. The intent was not to ensure that women and men will have an equal likelihood of meeting those standards. I assume, based on your testimony, you agree with that army officer.
- [04:49]
Pete Hegseth
Absolutely. The standards need to be the same and they need to be high. And they need to be set by the people closest to the problem, set closest to the understanding of what is required by that job. Commanders, commanding officers and CO comms and elsewhere who understand the reality of what they face. That's the feedback we should get. That's what should be enshrined and enforced. And no other set of political prerogatives. When I talk about removing politics, ideological or political prerogatives should contribute to those determinations. Nothing other than the execution of the mission.
- [05:20]
Senator Tom Cotton
Thank you. For the record, that army officer was Captain Kristen Greist. The Army's first female infantry officer and one of its first female Ranger school graduates. One final point. You said they need to be objective, gender neutral and high. That's because the demands are, in fact, very high. The current physical fitness test for the army has a minimum 2 mile run of 22 miles. Run. And I want the reporter to note that I'm putting run in air quotes because 22 miles at 2 miles is not running. It may be jogging. It's probably walking fast. Move on. Got a big 22 minutes. We've got a big audience here. Many of them seem to be patriotic supporters of you, Mr. Heath. Some of them seem to be liberal critics of you. I would note that it's only the liberal critics that have disrupted this hearing. As was my custom during the Biden administration. I want to give you a chance to respond to what they said about you. I think the first one accused you of being a Christian Zionist. I'm not really sure why that is a bad thing. I'm a Christian. I'm a Zionist. Zionism is that the Jewish people deserve a homeland in the ancient Holy Land where they've lived since the dawn of history. Do you consider yourself a Christian Zionist, Senator?
- [06:47]
Pete Hegseth
I support. I am a Christian, and I robustly support the state of Israel and its existential defense and the way America comes alongside them as their great.
- [06:56]
Senator Tom Cotton
Thank you. Because another protester, and I think this one was a member of codeping, which by the way, is a Chinese communist front group these days, said that you support Israel's war in Gaza. I support Israel's existential war in Gaza. I assume, like me and President Trump, you support that war as well, don't you, Senator?
- [07:16]
Pete Hegseth
I do. I support Israel destroying and killing every last member of Hamas.
- [07:21]
Senator Tom Cotton
And the third protester said something about 20 years of genocide. I assume that's our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Do you think our troops are committing genocide in Iraq and Afghanistan, Senator?
- [07:31]
Pete Hegseth
I do not. I think our. Senator, our troops, as you know, as so many on this committee know, did the best they could with what they have. We're not the outcomes. And tragically, the outcome we saw in Afghanistan under the Biden administration put a stain on that. But it doesn't put a stain on what those men and women did in uniform. As you know full well, Senator.
- [07:50]
Senator Tom Cotton
Thank you, Mr. Hicksa.
- [07:53]
Pete Hegseth
Thank you, Senator Cotton. At this point, I ask unanimous consent to offer to the record a letter submitted by Omar Abbasi, son of former city council president of Samara, Iraq, who worked with Mr. Hexith in Iraq, without Objection. That will be entered.
- [08:13]
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
Senator gillibrand.
- [08:14]
Senator Jeanne Shaheen
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Hegseth. I do want to thank you for your service. And I want to thank you for your willingness to serve in this capacity.
- [08:23]
Pete Hegseth
Thank you, Senator.
- [08:24]
Senator Jeanne Shaheen
I have many concerns about your record and particularly your public statements because they are so hurtful to the men and women who are currently serving in the US Military. Harmful to morale, harmful to good order and discipline. If you are saying that women shouldn't be serving in the military, now I'm gonna read you your quotes because the quotes themselves are terrible. You will have to change how you see women to do this job well. And I don't know if you are capable of that. So I wanna press on these issues that my colleague Jeanne Shaheen brought up because she said it so well. So first of all, you answered your questionnaire. Do you believe that any American who wants to serve in their country, in the military, and can meet objective standards set by the military should be allowed to serve without limitation? You've said yes to that question. But then in all of these other circumstances, you've denigrated active duty service members. We have hundreds, hundreds of women who are currently in the infantry, lethal members of our military serving in the infantry. But you degrade them. You say we need moms, but not in the military, especially in combat units. So specific to Senator Cotton's question, because Senator Cotton was giving you layups to differentiate between different types of combat. And specifically, as Secretary, would you take any action to reinstitute the combat arms exclusion for female service members, knowing full well you have hundreds of women doing that job right now. And the standards. Your two mile run, Tom, is about the Army Combat Fitness Test. It is not the requirements to have an MOS 11 Bravo, which is the infantry. These are the requirements today for people serving in industry, men and women. They are gender neutral and they are very difficult to meet. They have not been reduced in any way. And our combat units, our infantry, is lethal. So please explain specifically because you will be in charge of 3 million personnel. It is a big job. And when you make these public statements, and I get you were not Secretary of Defense then, I get you were on tv, I get you were helping veterans. I get it was a different job. But most recently you said this in November of 2024, knowing full well you might have been named as Secretary of Defense. So please explain these types of statements because they're brutal and they're mean and they disrespect men and women who are willing to die for this Country.
- [11:03]
Pete Hegseth
Well, Senator, I appreciate your comments. And I would point out I have never disparaged women serving in the military. I respect every single female service member that has put on the uniform past and present. My critiques, Senator, recently and in the past and from personal experience, have been instances where I've seen standards lowered. And you mentioned 11 Alpha, 11 Bravo, MOS, places in units, and the book that has been referenced multiple times here, the War on Warriors, I spent months talking to active duty service members, men and women, low ranks, high ranks, combat arms and not combat arms. And what each and every one of them told me and which personal instances have shown me, is that in ways direct, indirect, overt and subtle, standards have been changed inside infantry training units, Ranger school, infantry battalions to ensure that.
- [12:02]
Senator Jeanne Shaheen
Give me one example. Please give me an example. I get you're making these commanders meet.
- [12:06]
Pete Hegseth
Statements, quotas to have a certain number of female infantry officers or infantry enlisted, and that disparages those women.
- [12:14]
Senator Jeanne Shaheen
Commanders do not have to be quotas for the infantry. Commanders do not have to have a quota for women in the infantry. That does not exist. It does not exist. And your statements are creating the impression that these exist because they do not. They are not quotas. We want the most lethal force. But I'm telling you, having been here for 15 years listening to testimony about men and women in combat and the type of operations that were successful in Afghanistan, in Iraq, women were essential for many of those units. When Ranger units went in to find where the terrorists hiding in Afghanistan or in Iraq, if they had a woman in the unit, they could go in, talk to the women in a village, say, where are the terrorists hiding? Where are the weapons hiding? And get crucial information to make sure that we can win that battle. So just. You cannot denigrate women in general, and your statements do that. We don't want women in the military, especially in combat. What a terrible statement. So please do not deny that you've made those statements. You have. We take the responsibility of standards very seriously, and we will work with you. I'm equally distressed you would not meet with me before this hearing. We could have covered all of this before you came here so I could get to the 15 other questions that I want to get to. So women, you have denigrated, you have 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 politics. I don't want women, I don't want moms. What's wrong with a mom, by the way? Once you have babies, you therefore are no longer able to be lethal. I mean, you're basically saying women, after they have have children, can't ever serve in the military in a combat role. It's a silly thing to say. It's a silly thing to say. Beneath the position that you are aspiring to, to denigrate LGBTQ service members is a mistake. If you are a sharpshooter, you're as lethal, regardless of what your gender identity is, regardless of who you love. So please know this to be a true statement. So you say it was a political thing. You say it undermined US social engineering. I don't know why having someone having to publicly say or not publicly say who they love is social engineering. I think having that policy in the first place was highly problematic. And as you said in your statement, do you agree anybody should be able to serve in the military if they meet the standard?
- [14:54]
Steve Bannon
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- [16:16]
Pete Hegseth
Senator, as the President has stated, I don't disagree with the overturn of don't ask, don't tell.
- [16:24]
Senator Jeanne Shaheen
Great. Because I don't want you thinking can't serve if you're a mom. Can't serve if you're lgbtq. And then last, can't serve if you're a leftist. The statements you said about people who have views differently than you, that we're the enemy. Are you saying that 50% of the DoD, if they hold liberal views or leftist views or our Democrats, are not welcome in the military? Are you saying that?
- [16:48]
Pete Hegseth
Senator, I volunteered to deploy to Afghanistan under Democrat 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. Thank you very much. Senator Gillibrand, you held up a document and referred to it during your questioning. Would you like that entered into the record?
- [17:19]
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
Okay, we'll delete. We'll submit a clean document without objection.
- [17:23]
Pete Hegseth
That will be admitted at the. At the point of your question. And I would like to enter into the record at this point a letter of support from retired Air Force Colonel Melissa Cunningham. Colonel Cunningham supports Mr. Hexseth and mentions his warrior ethos, combat effectiveness, and maintaining military training standards. So, without objection, both of those will be admitted. And I now recognize Senator rounds.
- [17:49]
Senator Mike Rounds
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. First of all, good morning.
- [17:52]
Pete Hegseth
I'd like to thank you for your.
- [17:54]
Senator Mike Rounds
Service to our nation in uniform and also your work on behalf of your fellow veterans and for your willingness to.
- [18:01]
Steve Bannon
Enter into this maelstrom of public service.
- [18:04]
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
I think the presence of so many.
- [18:06]
Senator Mike Rounds
Veterans who have showed up to support you speaks volumes.
- [18:10]
Steve Bannon
I also want to recognize your family, service and sacrifice.
- [18:13]
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
You know as well as anyone that it's not just the man that enters.
- [18:17]
Pete Hegseth
The arena, but it's the entire family.
- [18:19]
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
Who also works their way through this process as well.
- [18:24]
Senator Mike Rounds
I appreciated our meeting with you and with your wife Jennifer this last month.
- [18:30]
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
And I thought we had an excellent conversation. That's Senator Mike Rounds, Republican. I'm going to try to focus more on the Democrats. Say the Republicans are going to ask. Cotton was great because Cotton got down to. A lot of. These are going to be. I'm not saying supportive, but to make Pete's case. We know what Pete stands for. We support Pete Hegseth. I know the audience does. What I want to do is really contrast the Democrats. Captain Bannon. Maureen Bannon is actually in the audience. I think she's tweeting out and she. She texted me with the. About Gillibrand. That was Senator Kristen Gillibrand of New York. Now, the importance of Gillibrand. Gillibrand has set up, and quite frankly, some Republicans backed It up, I think Ted Cruz, something I adamantly oppose. And it was for these sexual issues, I don't know, sexual assaults, kind of the Me Too movement. They wanted another chain of command than the ucmj, the military code of justice, a chain of command, using your chain of command to work through any issue. They wanted to set up a separate one just for these issues of the MeToo movement. And I'm not trying to downplay that those are very serious. But I've said from day one, you've got to go through a unified command of a command structure and use that command structure. If you set up what Gillibrand was talking about, what a lot of these democratic, particularly democratic females on the Armed Services Committee want is they've set up essentially what is in the Soviet army, what's in the Chinese Communist Party army. The first thing the Bolsheviks did, the first thing Mao did, is in the military set of political commissars. Political commissars would be outside of the military chain of command, but would essentially run it because the political ideology of. The political ideology of the Marxists, the political ideology of the Bolsheviks and the Chinese Communist Party overrode everything else. And this is why those two militaries went through massive show trials, purges, persecutions, etc. And then also at the lower ranks, it was never really the effectiveness of the troops itself, but it was always some political issue. So, you know, I've always been adamantly opposed to going outside of the military chain of command, but that's Recy Gillibrand and she's coming. I mean, they're coming hard at Pete Hegseth. Pete Hegseth right now is giving as good as he gets. I would actually say he's giving better than he gets, but it's pretty intense. And folks have to understand this is going to be all the way through. I think 8 or 9 o'clock tonight, particularly if a Senator Wicker. And it's very important for Wicker to hold his ground. Pete Hack says it should be one day they get all their questions asked. They have to go back. Just so folks understand, it's seven minutes a question each. You go to Republican and then Democrat, Republican, Democrat. And I believe the way it goes is through seniority. So it should be. They may change it up depending on what the chairman of the committee or the way the two parties want to have their folks in the committee. Just once again, when you go to these confirmation hearings, you go before the committee of jurisdiction. The committee of jurisdiction is what you report to as a Cabinet official in the separation of powers with the legislative branch having, you know, being a co equal partner with the executive. The executive gets to choose who wants to be in the cabinet. There's 1,000 Senate confirmed. The Senate is what I call the human resources department. You have advice and consent in the Constitution. It's normally only under extraordinary circumstances is withheld. General Austin, who's obviously been a complete disaster, I think had 97 votes when he was approved. They were Democrats already saying they're not going, that Pete Hex is not going to get a Democratic vote, although maybe Fetterman may be out there. That's what this hearing today is so important about, the intensity of what the Democrats come to him. Plus they're setting a tone of how they're going to deal with the Trump administration. And folks, I hope you're saying it right now, it's not going to be, they're going to be full attack mode. We had Rob Bluey on the show last night in the 6 o'clock hour and I hope Grace and, and Carrie Donovan and others, Jane Zerkel, get the Rob Bluie interview I did and make sure everybody sees it. Bluie had this, he's over at Daily Signal now. He had a poll, they had a poll taken. 50% of the administrative state in the deep state, 50% of bureaucrats paid by taxpayers say they're going to be in full resistance to President Trump. And you're seeing today when they look and look at this hearing and they see Democratic senators, particularly like Kirsten Gillibrand, going after full on attack mode to Pete Hegset. They're taking, they're going to take the signal from those folks that this is okay to confront, to confront the leaders of the different cabinet departments. Remember, this will lead to leaks. This will lead to people just not following the directives the president had taken. This goes back to days of thunder next week when President Trump signs these, let's say, 50 executive orders in his very first they've set aside time in the afternoon, let's say it takes an hour or so to sign these executive orders. The executive orders are only good enough as you can force it through the system and make the system actually apply it. And you're seeing right now the apparatus is going to take the lead of the Democrats in saying, hey, it's fine to resist President Trump. The Democrats right now, if you look at that, if you look at that testimony that is not sitting there trying to actually get to any understanding of Pete Hegseth or Pete Hegseth's thinking right. That is full attack mode to go on the record to be cut into a 30 second clip into it for, for a TV advertisement. This is a full on political assault by the, by the harridans on the, on the House Armed Services or the Senate Armed Services Committee. For those of you that didn't get to that didn't watch last night, Rachel Maddow was back and announced that starting next Monday she's going to be there for 100 days. This morning, I think it was Rashida Jones was fired or essentially stepped down, was fired by MSNBC as they're going to go in full attack mode. Rachel Maddar last night gave a 28 minute open that took on the Trump transition and says the worst in history. But my point is people should watch it. Maybe we pull the whole clip and play it, put it up on our site so people can see it. She is in full attack mode. Full attack mode. Folks that think this is going to be easy for President Trump with all these issues that are up there, understand it is not going to be easy. It is going to be full attack mode every day. And you're seeing it right now. This is why today we're taking so much time. And I want to thank Real America's voice, Robin Parker, SIG for letting us, for letting us go. We're going to go back now to the hearing. Now it's a Democrat. Let's go right back to the hearing.
- [25:33]
Senator Richard Blumenthal
And hear this appreciation and respect for your service to our country and thanks to all the veterans who are here today and thank you for your service as the ranking member of the Veterans Affairs Committee. I hope we can focus on doing better for our veterans and doing better in management of the Department of Defense. There's always room for improvement. I think what we need in that position is not just better, but the best in financial management because those decisions are life and death decisions affecting the 3.4 million Americans who serve our national security and our national defense and put their lives on the line. I want to talk about financial mismanagement at the two organizations that you headed, which are the only test of your financial management that we have before this committee, the Veterans for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America. You took over the Veterans for Freedom in 2007. In 2008, you raised $8.7 million but spent more than 9 million, creating a deficit. By January 2009, you told donors that the organization had less than $1,000 in the bank and debts of $434,000. By 2010, revenue at the Veterans for Freedom had dropped to about $265,000. In the next year it had dropped further to 22.
- [27:19]
Steve Bannon
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- [28:30]
Senator Richard Blumenthal
$2,000. You don't dispute these numbers do you Senator?
- [28:35]
Pete Hegseth
I'm extremely proud of the work me and my fellow vets did at Vets for Freedom. A bunch of young vets with no political experience. A small group working hard every single day. We raised donor funds and I took and we have letters submitted for the record from almost everyone that worked with me every single day including our chief operating officer who will attest that every dollar we raised was used intentionally toward the execution of our mission which is supporting the war fighters. Exactly why we're here today. The the war fighters in the Iraq surge. There was a campaign in 2008 Senator.
- [29:15]
Senator Richard Blumenthal
If Barack Obama was just ask you another question he believed John McCain would.
- [29:19]
Pete Hegseth
Be the right person to win and.
- [29:20]
Senator Richard Blumenthal
So we spent all of tax returns from that organization.
- [29:23]
Pete Hegseth
I'm glad they're in for the record.
- [29:25]
Senator Richard Blumenthal
I'm going to ask to be entered into the record Mr. Chairman, without objection. These tax returns are yours. They have your signature and I'm going to ask that members of the committee review them because they're the only documents I've asked for others I've asked for the FBI report that would presumably document it should have documented this kind of financial mismanagement and These are the 990s from that organization. By the year of 2011 donors had become so dissatisfied with that mismanagement they in effect Ousted you. They merged that organization with Military Families United, and thereafter you joined a second organization as executive director in between.
- [30:21]
Pete Hegseth
Senator, I went to Harvard University.
- [30:25]
Senator Richard Blumenthal
I want to ask you questions about Concerned Veterans for America. Again, another set of tax returns, the 990s from that organization. I ask they be made part of the record.
- [30:35]
Pete Hegseth
Mr. Chairman, without objection. Both of those returns are now part of the record.
- [30:40]
Senator Richard Blumenthal
2011 to 2016. At the end of 2013, shortfall of $130,000. At the end of 2014, shortfall of $428,000. You had a surplus the following year, but then another deficit of $437,000. By the time you left, that organization had deep debts, including credit card transaction debts of about $75,000. That isn't the kind of fiscal management we want at the Department of Defense. We can't tolerate it at the Department of Defense. That's an organization with a budget of $850 billion, not 10 or 15 million, which was the case at those two organizations. And it has command responsibility for 3.4 million Americans. The highest number that you managed in those two organizations was maybe 50 people. Let me ask you, how many men and women now serve in the United States Army? What is Sen's strength?
- [31:55]
Pete Hegseth
Senator, I would like an opportunity to respond to.
- [31:59]
Senator Richard Blumenthal
Well, I'm impugning of my leadership of organization concerned.
- [32:04]
Pete Hegseth
You're on the VA Committee, sir, and I appreciate your service there. The VA Accountability act and the Mission act were all brainchilds of Concerned Veterans for America. We used our donor money very intentionally and focused to create policy that bettered the lives of veterans.
- [32:22]
Senator Richard Blumenthal
Mr. Hegseth, I'm asking you a very simple question. How many men and women currently serve in the United States Army?
- [32:30]
Pete Hegseth
Senator? The United States Army? 450,000 on active duty, sir.
- [32:34]
Senator Richard Blumenthal
And how many in the Navy?
- [32:37]
Pete Hegseth
And the Navy is 425, sir.
- [32:40]
Senator Richard Blumenthal
Well, it's 337 this year. How many in the Marine Corps?
- [32:44]
Pete Hegseth
175. 175,000, sir.
- [32:46]
Senator Richard Blumenthal
172,300. Those numbers dwarf any experience you had by many multiples. I don't believe that you can tell this committee or the people of America that you are qualified to lead them. I would support you as the spokesperson for the Pentagon. I don't dispute your communication skills, but I believe that we are entitled to the facts here. I've asked for more documents. I assume you'd be willing to submit to an expanded FBI background check that interviews your colleagues, accountants, ex wives, former spouses, sexual assault Survivors and others and enable them to come forward.
- [33:41]
Pete Hegseth
Senator, I'm not in charge of FBI and background checks.
- [33:44]
Senator Richard Blumenthal
But you would submit to it and support it.
- [33:48]
Pete Hegseth
I'm not in charge of FBI background checks.
- [33:50]
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
Thank you.
- [33:51]
Pete Hegseth
Senator Blumenthal, I, at this point, want to submit a letter from Captain Wade Zirkel, the founder of Vets for Freedom.
- [34:00]
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
And the person who hired Pete Hegseth.
- [34:02]
Pete Hegseth
To run the organization.
- [34:04]
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
Blumenthal. Blumenthal of Connecticut right there doing the questioning, is guilty of stolen valor. He was the one that lied for years. This is the type of quality of dirtbags you have on the Democratic side. He was. He claimed for years. I think he was a Green Beret medic or something. They had service actually in Vietnam. He's been proven a liar. And this is who the Democrats put on the Armed Services Committee. Blumenthal has no credibility. Has no credibility whatsoever with any service member. They think that guy's a scumbag. So right there, do you see the questioning of Pete Hegsett? They're trying to get. So remember, the questioning on both sides is highly organized and highly thought through. Both sides have their staffs get together and they go through the kind of narratives that they want to push. And that's also from the opening. From the opening statements. The opening statement from Jack Reed, the Democrat, was on before. Before we started. And by the way, I think it's Blackburn. Joanie. Oh, let's go to. We gotta go. Joining us. Cut back life.
- [35:08]
Senator Joni Ernst
And in his letter, Mr. Lucas says that Mr. Hegseth, quote, laid a strong foundation that postured CVA for long term success, end quote. And that, Mr. Hegseth, Quote, continued to be an invaluable asset to both me as a leader and the organization, end quote. So I would ask for unanimous consent to enter this Washington Times article and the letter from Mr. Mark Lucas into.
- [35:34]
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
The record without objection.
- [35:36]
Senator Joni Ernst
Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Good morning, Mr. Hegseth, and thank you very much. I appreciate your service to our nation. It's something that I know you are very proud of, and it is something that we have in common and that we share. You and I have had many productive conversations. And just for our audience, we have had very frank conversations. Is that correct, Mr. Hegseth?
- [36:08]
Pete Hegseth
Senator, that is a correct characterization.
- [36:10]
Senator Joni Ernst
You know that I don't keep any. Anything hidden, pull no punches. My colleagues know that as well. So I do appreciate you sitting down and allowing me the opportunity to question you thoroughly on those issues that are of great importance to me. Just to recap those issues, three that are very important one is the DoD and making sure that we have a clean audit. The second is women in combat, and we'll talk a little bit more about that in a moment. And the third was maintaining high standards and making sure that we are combating sexual assault in the military. Mr. Hegseth, I'm going to address the issue because this will tie into some of the financial concerns that have been raised here as well. And it's why I, trusting my fellow Iowan, asked for unanimous consent of his letter to go into the record. But like me, a lot of Iowans are really, really concerned and upset about the wasteful Washington spending. And of course, in our Pentagon, it's an issue that I have been combating for years. So there's significant room for greater efficiency and cost cutting within the department. And the DoD is the only federal agency that has never passed an audit. As the Senate Doge Caucus chair and founder, that's unacceptable to me, and it should be unacceptable to you as well. So I appreciate that you mentioned that in your opening statement. What are those steps that you will take to ensuring the Pentagon has a clean audit by the year 2028?
- [37:59]
Pete Hegseth
Senator, I appreciate your work on this topic, which you've been involved in for a long time. You mentioned Concerned Veterans for America. I just want to clarify. We have very generous donors who set a very clear budget that we stuck to every single year. So the latitude there was restricted and we worked very hard and diligently inside it. You've also been a leader on the Pentagon audit for a very long time. I think when we met, Senator, I said 2014 was the first year we discovered a 2013 op ed. I wrote about the need for a Pentagon audit because an audit is an issue of national security and frankly, respect to American taxpayers who give $850 billion over to the Defense Department and expect that we know where that money goes. And if that money is going somewhere that doesn't add to tooth and instead goes to fat or tail, we need to know that. Or if it's wasted, we need to know that. So I think previous Secretaries of Defense, with all due respect, haven't necessarily emphasized the strategic prerogative of an audit. And myself, my deputy, SecDef, and others already know that a Pentagon audit will be the comptroller. Others central to ensuring we find those dollars that can be used elsewhere legally under the law, inside the Pentagon. So you have my word it will be a priority.
- [39:19]
Senator Joni Ernst
Okay, thank you. Okay. Moving on to women in combat. And I had the privilege of serving in uniform for over 23, three years between our Army Reserves and our Iowa Army National Guard did serve in Kuwait and missions in Iraq. And so it is incredibly important that I stress, and I hope that if confirmed, you continue to stress that every man and woman has opportunity to serve their country in uniform and do so at any level as long as they are meeting the standards that are set forward. And we talked about that in my office. I do believe in high standards. Now, I was denied the opportunity to serve in any combat role because I have a lot of gray hair and the policy has changed since then. Okay, so I've been around for quite a while. But for the young women that are out there now and can meet those standards, and again, I'll emphasize they should be very, very high standards, they must physically be able to achieve those standards so that they can complete their mission. But I want to know, again, let's make it very clear for everyone here today. As Secretary of Defense, will you support women continuing to have the opportunity to serve in combat roles?
- [40:56]
Pete Hegseth
Senator, first of all, thank you for your service. As we discussed extensively as well, it's my privilege and my answer is yes, exactly the way that you caveat it. Yes, women will have access to ground combat roles, combat rows, given the standards remain high. And we'll have a review to ensure the standards have not been eroded in any one of these cases. That'll be part of. One of the first things we do at the Pentagon is reviewing that in a gender neutral way. The standards ensuring readiness and meritocracy is front and center. But absolutely, it would be the privilege of a lifetime if confirmed to be the Secretary of Defense for all men and women in uniform who fight so heroic they have so many other options, they decide to put their right hand up for our country. And it would be an honor to have a chance to lead them.
- [41:47]
Senator Joni Ernst
Thank you. And just very briefly, we only have less than a minute left, but we have also discussed this in my office. A priority of mine has been combating sexual assault in the military and making sure that all of our service members are treated with dignity and respect. This has been so important. Senator Gillibrand and I have worked on this and we were able to get changes made to the Uniform Code of Military justice to make sure that we have improvements on how we address the tragic and life altering issues of rape, sexual assault. It will demand time and attention from the Pentagon under your watch if you are confirmed. So as Secretary of Defense, will you appoint a senior level official dedicated to sexual assault prevention and response?
- [42:45]
Pete Hegseth
Senator, as we have discussed. Yes, I will.
- [42:49]
Senator Joni Ernst
Okay. And my time has expired. Thank you for your answers, Senator hirono.
- [42:54]
Senator Mazie Hirono
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Hagseckel, welcome.
- [42:59]
Pete Hegseth
Thank you.
- [43:00]
Senator Mazie Hirono
I am focused on your fitness to serve, including your character and temperament and your overall qualifications to do the job. And I do appreciate the comments of Ranking Member Reed with his concerns regarding your nomination, because I share those concerns. As part of my responsibility as a member of this committee, to ensure the fitness of all nominees who come before any of the committees on which I sit, I ask the following two initial questions. First, since you became a legal adult, have you ever made unwanted requests for sexual favors or committed any verbal or physical harassment or assault of a sexual nature?
- [43:42]
Pete Hegseth
No.
- [43:42]
Senator Mazie Hirono
Senator, have you ever faced discipline or entered into a settlement relating to this kind of conduct?
- [43:49]
Pete Hegseth
Senator, I was falsely accused in October of 2017. It was fully investigated, and I was completely cleared.
- [43:58]
Senator Mazie Hirono
I don't think completely cleared is accurate, but the fact is that your own lawyer said that you entered into an NDA and paid a person who accused you of raping her a sum of money to. To make sure that she did not file a complaint. Moving on, as Secretary, you will be in charge of maintaining good order and discipline by enforcing the Uniform Code of Military justice, ucmj, in addition to the sexual assault allegations. And by the way, the answer to my second question should have been yes. I have read multiple reports of your regularly being drunk at work, including by people who worked with you at Fox News. Do you know that being drunk at work is prohibited for service members under the ucmj?
- [44:52]
Pete Hegseth
Senator, those are no. Multiple false, anonymous reports peddled by NBC News.
- [44:58]
Senator Mazie Hirono
Do you know that run directly contradictory.
- [45:01]
Pete Hegseth
To the dozens of men and women.
- [45:02]
Senator Mazie Hirono
At Fox News Channel who I work with? I'm not hearing my question.
- [45:06]
Pete Hegseth
And said in your opening statement, Mr.
- [45:08]
Senator Mazie Hirono
Hagg said you commit to holding leaders accountable at all levels. That includes you, of course. Frankly, as secretary, you will be on the job 24 7. You recently promised some of my Republican colleagues that you stopped drinking and won't drink if confirmed, correct?
- [45:32]
Pete Hegseth
Absolutely.
- [45:33]
Senator Mazie Hirono
Will you resign as Secretary of Defense if you drink on the job, which is a 247 position?
- [45:40]
Pete Hegseth
I've made this commitment on behalf of.
- [45:43]
Senator Mazie Hirono
Will you resign the Secretary of Defense?
- [45:45]
Pete Hegseth
I've made this commitment on behalf of the men and women I'm serving because it's the most important deployment.
- [45:50]
Senator Mazie Hirono
I'm not hearing an answer to my question, so I'm going to move on. While you have made that commitment, you will not commit to resigning if you drink on the Job as Secretary of Defense, you will swear an oath to the Constitution and not an oath to any man, woman or president, correct?
- [46:09]
Pete Hegseth
Senator, on multiple occasions, including as a young second lieutenant, I have sworn an oath to the Constitution and I'm proud to do so. Yes, ma'am.
- [46:15]
Senator Mazie Hirono
In June of 2020, then President Trump directed former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper to shoot protesters in the legs in downtown D.C. an order secretary Esper refused to comply with. Would you carry out such an order from President Trump?
- [46:34]
Pete Hegseth
Senator, I was in the Washington D.C. national Guard unit that was in Lafayette Square during those.
- [46:40]
Senator Mazie Hirono
Would you carry out an order to shoot protests in my country in the legs?
- [46:44]
Pete Hegseth
I saw 50 service agents get injured by rioters trying to jump over the fence, set the church on fire and destroy.
- [46:51]
Senator Mazie Hirono
That sounds to me that you will comply with such an order. You will shoot protesters in the. In the leg. Moving on. President elect has attacked our allies in recent weeks, refusing to rule out using military force to take over Greenland and the Panama Canal and threatening to take to make Canada the 51st state. Would you carry out an order from President Trump to seize Greenland, a territory of our NATO ally Denmark, by force, or would you comply with an order to. To take over the Panama Canal?
- [47:27]
Pete Hegseth
Senator, I will emphasize that President Trump received 77 million votes to be the lawful commander.
- [47:33]
Senator Mazie Hirono
We're not talking about the election. My question is, would you use our military to take over Greenland or an ally of Denmark?
- [47:47]
Pete Hegseth
Senator, one of the things that President Trump is so good at is never strategically tipping his hands. And so I would never, in this public forum, give one way or another, direct what orders the President gives. To me in any context, it sounds.
- [47:58]
Senator Mazie Hirono
To me that you would contemplate carrying out such an order to basically invade Greenland and take over the Panama Canal. Current DoD policy allows service members and eligible dependents to be reimbursed for travel associated with non covered reproductive health care, including abortions. Will you maintain this common sense policy?
- [48:23]
Pete Hegseth
Senator, I've always been personally pro life. I know President Trump has as well. And we will review all policies. But our, our standard is whatever the President wants on this particular issue of my advice, I will take.
- [48:35]
Senator Mazie Hirono
If the President tells you that this policy will not be maintained, you will not enable our service members to seek reproductive care.
- [48:46]
Pete Hegseth
I don't believe the federal government.
- [48:47]
Senator Mazie Hirono
I'm not hearing answers to my question. I just want to note that the other area that of serious concern to me is President Trump saying that he wants to use the military to help with mass deportations, which will cost billions of dollars and what that will do to readiness is very, very concerning. Mr. Hexags, I have noticed a disturbing pattern. You previously have made a series of inflammatory statements about women in combat, LGBTQ service members, Muslim Americans and Democrats. Since your nominations, however, you have walked those back on tv, in interviews, and most recently in your opening statements. You are no longer on fox and friends. Mr. Hexsett, if confirmed, your words, actions and decisions will have real impacts on national security and our service members lives. There are close to 3 million personnel in the Department of Defense $900 billion budget. I hardly think you are prepared to do the job. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
- [50:01]
Pete Hegseth
Senator, thank you. That wasn't a question, Mr. Hexa. Thank you, Senator Hirono, Senator Sullivan.
- [50:08]
Senator Mike Rounds
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
- [50:09]
Senator Tom Cotton
And Mr. Hegseth, congratulations on your nomination.
- [50:13]
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
And thank you and your family for.
- [50:15]
Senator Mike Rounds
Your service and sacrifice.
- [50:17]
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- [51:22]
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
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Steve Bannon
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- [51:35]
Pete Hegseth
Thank you, Senator.
- [51:36]
Senator Mike Rounds
Now for the most important question you.
- [51:38]
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
Will receive from Alaska. Who's a Marine, and I'm not the father, and I'm not. I'm not trying to downplay the importance of the Republican senators, but clearly they're supportive of Pete. And it's, I think, most important to focus on Pete being fully attacked. You saw right there. These attacks are relentless. Audience should take away, too. They're not interested in Pete's answers. Pete Hexseth has great answers. And they're not interested in it, they have an agenda. Here's the agenda. They know Pete Hexseth is going to get confirmed and here's why they know he's going to get confirmed. There has been nothing. I'm not so sure they got any witnesses on all this. Anonymous charges and smears on Pete. I'm not sure they were able to get from the day Pete was announced with all the support they had from the New York Times and msnbc. And Pete just called out msnbc right there. It's MSNBC that's been all over this. Day one, making up the same types of lies that they are, unsupported assertions that they did with President Trump and the whole, you know, shifty shift comey, the Mueller investigation, all of it, remember, go back over time, the same type of thing they did with Pete Hex. And when it comes time to put up or shut up, they got nothing. But they understand in political warfare and information warfare, in setting a narrative that they can basically, you know, scuff somebody up or scar somebody up with these, with these smears. I want to go back over this, over the questions. The first group of Democratic senators have come at Pete hard on everything from his character to your womanizer. You're an abuser, sexual abuse. You don't know how to manage any kind of large group. You waste money, you drink on the job, you support war criminals. You've been disruptive in your command. Everything you get, attack Pete Hexathon. They've gone at it. And that's why I wanted you to see it. It's best not to. Even someone like me talk about it, just see it yourself. What have your own lion eyes shown you how they've come after him relentlessly on all kind of made up stuff? And Pete Hags is very cool and calm, sits there with the personifying, the warrior ethos. This is what I thought was very good about. Was it Colonel Mike Waltz's the Green Berets going to be national security adviser? Look, we've got differences with Mike Waltz. I did it on the show yesterday. Kind of a gentle nudge to say, hey, bro, maybe we shouldn't take ownership of the Ukraine war. But think of where Walz is coming from and particularly in the House. When you look at Wicker, who's the senior. Wicker's from a Republican from Mississippi and Wicker is the chairman of the Armed Services Committee in the Senate, which is a massively powerful job. He's got the Ukraine flag right on his lapel. I mean, this is what you're up against Waltz today, put in his opening statement. The warrior ethos. The warrior ethos. The warrior ethos. And I hope we get that trending on social media because that's what this is about. You see Pete Hegseth kind of the warrior ethos right there, that you see him and he's being relentlessly attacked. Does that look like a group of warriors? And recommendation to the Democratic Party if you're going to go after Pete Heggs, I realize Jack Reed, I think is a long serving army officer and Gillibrand, these people have their own angle of attack and own style. But when you put up Blumenthal, I don't care how senior he is, you put up Blumenthal, who's a stolen, who's guilty of stolen valor. When you put him up to basically be one of the first questioners, you lose all credibility right then and there. Your attacks on hexes mean nothing. People in the military, people close to this, understand a guy like Blumenthal is negative credibility. And so in his attacks on Pete Hexseth. And I want to go back and you. And this is why. And I want to thank Real America's voice to let us blow the brakes because I thought it was very important today during our show to set the kind of template that you could see it without commercial interruption. You could see the attacks one after the other on the Democratic side of Pete Hex's where they were. And they're very coordinated, what they went through, right? From all the sexual issues and the issues about women to the issues about drinking, the issues about these organizations about the money, the issues about him having the back of warriors in the field. And they said he backed war criminals and everything with his commands and all of his writings and books, particularly Women in Combat on all of those kind of eight to ten issues. They're relentless. Bang, bang, bang. They've got highly coordinated questions and they're not interested in an answer. They're interested in a sound bite that they can put up on MSNBC tonight. Watch the Rachel Maddow Show. She won't be on tonight, but watch MSNBC tonight, particularly Joy Ann Reid, Chris Hayes, Alex Wagner, there'll be all. The opening thing will be Heat Hexith and we'll have a whole montage at the beginning of clips from the Democratic senators asking cheap shot questions and not respond. And no real response from Pete Hexit to go boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. Because they're trying to build a narrative that Pete Hex is irresponsible. Pete Hex is a bad guy. Pete Hex has no character. Pete Hex is over his head. President Trump is putting up unqualified people. Nothing could be further from the truth. President Trump won a sweeping victory. He gets to have the team he wants. I also hope that everybody's taken to heart that we should have never backed off of Matt Gaetz. Pete Hegseth, who's not guilty of any of this stuff, Pete Hegseth is going to power through. And if they're smart and if Wicker stands his ground, we stayed at 9 or 10 o'clock tonight. Pete's a tough guy. He can take it. We take all the questions, let him ask everything they want to ask. But it's going to end today. No coming back over the next couple days where they can run around and cause all the, all the, all the, all the nasty, dirty work they want to do today ends it. And then put it to a committee vote, give them 48 hours, put it to committee vote on Thursday. Let the whole Senate vote on it and let Pete Hegs, the Secretary of Defense, be. As soon as President Trump is taking the oath of office, first person he swears in is Pete Hexseth. This is where it should go and they should dig in hard on this. There should be no, no, no opportunity whatsoever to slow this thing down. Once again, I want to thank Riddle America's voice. It is very important, I think, particularly the first two hours here today. Do you hear, without commercial interruption, exactly how they're attacking him on these questions? Pete Hexith, I think, has been magnificent in these first couple hours. Mo is actually one of the people that were asked to come and sit and support Pete Hegseth. She's Mo's, as you know, served in Iraq with the 101st after West Point. She's a huge supporter of Pete Hegseth, and that's why she's there today. I think she's actually been, been tweeting. As soon as Sullivan is asking some questions, by the way, the Republicans are asking great questions, but I think it's. I need to contextualize what's going on with the Democrats. This is the Democrats, and here's what they're trying to do. They're trying to send a signal to President Trump. This is how we're going to handle you and everybody. Let's go back to the hearing right now.
- [58:47]
Senator Mike Rounds
At that time, you were still married to your second wife, correct?
- [58:53]
Pete Hegseth
I believe so.
- [58:54]
Senator Mike Rounds
And you had just fathered a child by a woman who would later become your third wife.
- [58:58]
Pete Hegseth
Correct, Senator. I was falsely charged, fully investigated, and completely cleared.
- [59:05]
Senator Mike Rounds
So you think you are completely cleared because you committed no crime? That's your definition of cleared? 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 are completely cleared. How is that a complete clear, Senator?
- [59:32]
Pete Hegseth
Hurt. The child's name is Gwendolyn Hope Hegseth, and she's a child of God, and she's seven years old, and she was.
- [59:38]
Senator Mike Rounds
And you cheated on the mother of that child less than two months after that daughter was born, didn't you?
- [59:45]
Pete Hegseth
Those were false charges.
- [59:46]
Senator Mike Rounds
Well, no.
- [59:47]
Pete Hegseth
Fully investigated, and I was completely cleared. And I am so grateful for the marriage I have to this. No.
- [59:52]
Senator Mike Rounds
You've admitted. You've admitted that you had sex at that hotel in October 2017. You said it was consensual. Isn't that correct?
- [60:01]
Pete Hegseth
Anything.
- [60:03]
Senator Mike Rounds
You've admitted that it was consensual, and you were still married and you just had a child by another woman. Again, how do you explain your judgment?
- [60:10]
Pete Hegseth
Completely false charges against me. I investigated and I'm completely clear.
- [60:15]
Senator Mike Rounds
You have admitted that you had sex while you were married to wife two after you just had fathered a child by wife three. You've admitted that. Now, if it had been a sexual assault, that would be disqualifying to be Secretary of Defense, wouldn't it?
- [60:28]
Pete Hegseth
It was a false claim then and a false claim now.
- [60:31]
Senator Mike Rounds
If it had been a sexual assault, that would be disqualifying to be Secretary of Defense, wouldn't it?
- [60:38]
Pete Hegseth
That was a false claim. So you're talking about a hypothetical.
- [60:41]
Senator Mike Rounds
So you can't tell me whether someone who has committed a sexual assault is disqualified from being Secretary of Defense.
- [60:49]
Pete Hegseth
Senator, I know in my instance, and I'm talking about my instance only, it was a false claim.
- [60:55]
Senator Mike Rounds
But you acknowledge. But you acknowledge that. That you cheated on your wife and that you cheated on the woman by whom you had just fathered a child. You have admitted that.
- [61:05]
Pete Hegseth
I will allow your words to speak for themselves.
- [61:07]
Senator Mike Rounds
You're not retracting that today. That's good. I assume that in each of your weddings, you've pledged to be faithful to your wife. You've taken an oath to do that.
- [61:14]
Pete Hegseth
Haven'T you, Senator, As I've acknowledged to everyone in this committee, not a perfect person. Not claiming to be, but no I.
- [61:21]
Senator Mike Rounds
Just asked the simple question. You've taken an oath. Like you would take an oath to be Secretary of Defense in all of your weddings, to be faithful to your wife. Is that correct?
- [61:28]
Pete Hegseth
I have failed in things in my life, and thankfully, I'm redeemed by my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
- [61:33]
Senator Mike Rounds
In finalizing divorces from your first and second wives, were there non disclosure agreements in connection with those divorces, Senator?
- [61:41]
Pete Hegseth
Not that I'm aware of.
- [61:42]
Senator Mike Rounds
If there were, would you agree to release those first and second wives from any confidentiality agreement, Senator?
- [61:48]
Pete Hegseth
It's not something I'm aware of.
- [61:50]
Senator Mike Rounds
But if there were, you would agree to release them from a confidentiality, Senator?
- [61:54]
Pete Hegseth
That's not my responsibility.
- [61:56]
Senator Mike Rounds
Did you ever engage in any acts of physical violence against any of your wives, Senator?
- [62:00]
Pete Hegseth
Absolutely not.
- [62:02]
Senator Mike Rounds
But you would agree with me that if someone had committed physical violence against a spouse, that would be disqualifying to serve as Secretary of Defense, correct, Senator?
- [62:10]
Pete Hegseth
Absolutely not. Have I ever done that?
- [62:13]
Senator Mike Rounds
You would agree that that would be a disqualifying offense, would you not, Senator?
- [62:18]
Pete Hegseth
You're talking about a hypothetical.
- [62:20]
Senator Mike Rounds
I don't think it's a hypothetical. Violence against spouses occurs every day. And if you as a leader are not capable of saying that physical violence against a spouse should be a disqualifying fact for being Secretary of the most powerful nation in the world, you're demonstrating an astonishing lack of judgment. The incident in Monterey led to a criminal charge, a criminal investigation, a private settlement, and a cash payment to the woman who filed the complaint. And there was also a non disclosure agreement, correct?
- [62:53]
Pete Hegseth
It was a confidential settlement agreement off of a nuisance lawsuit.
- [62:58]
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
Right.
- [62:59]
Senator Mike Rounds
During an interview, you claimed that you settled the matter because you were worried that if it became public, it might hurt your career. Do you maintain that you were blackmailed, Senator?
- [63:08]
Pete Hegseth
I maintain that false claims were made against me and ultimately your attorney. Those false claims, I have the opportunity to attest my innocence in those false claims.
- [63:18]
Senator Mike Rounds
But you didn't reveal any of this to President Trump or the transition team as they were considering you to be nominated for Secretary of Defense. You didn't reveal the action, you didn't reveal the criminal complaint, you didn't reveal the criminal investigation, you didn't reveal the settlement, you didn't reveal the cash payment. Why didn't you inform the Commander in Chief and the transition team of this very relevant event?
- [63:44]
Pete Hegseth
Senator, I've appreciated every part of the process with the transition team. They have been open and honest with me. We've had great conversations between the two of us. And I appreciate the opportunity that President.
- [63:55]
Senator Mike Rounds
Elect, but you chose not to reveal this, right, because you knew it would hurt your chances. So you chose not to reveal this really important thing to the commander in chief of the transition team because you were worried about your chances rather than trying to be candid with the future President of the United States. Are there any other important facts that you chose not to reveal to the President elect and his team as they were considering you to be Secretary of Defense?
- [64:22]
Pete Hegseth
Senator, I sit here before you in open book as everyone who's watched this.
- [64:27]
Senator Mike Rounds
Process with with multiple non disclosure and confidentiality agreements tying the hands of many people who would like to comment to us. Much of much has been made of your workplace behavior as a leader of nonprofit veterans organizations and as a Fox News contributor. Were you fired from either of the leadership positions with the nonprofits?
- [64:48]
Pete Hegseth
I was the leader. I was the CEO of America.
- [64:51]
Senator Mike Rounds
Those executive directors were you fired from.
- [64:53]
Pete Hegseth
And I was never fired from a Do you have non organizations?
- [64:56]
Senator Mike Rounds
Do you have non disclosure agreements with either of those organizations?
- [64:59]
Pete Hegseth
Not that I'm aware of.
- [65:00]
Senator Mike Rounds
Senator, many of your work colleagues have said that you show up for work under the influence of alcohol or drunk. I know you've denied that, but you would agree with me, right, that if that was the case, that would be disqualifying for somebody to be Secretary of Defense.
- [65:13]
Pete Hegseth
Senator, those are all anonymous false claims and the totality they're not.
- [65:17]
Senator Mike Rounds
They're not anonymous.
- [65:18]
Pete Hegseth
The letters on the record, they're not anonymous on the the record people.
- [65:21]
Senator Mike Rounds
We've seen records with names attached to.
- [65:23]
Pete Hegseth
Freedom Concerned Vets for America and Fox News.
- [65:26]
Senator Mike Rounds
One of your colleagues working hard every.
- [65:28]
Pete Hegseth
Day on behalf of one of your.
- [65:30]
Senator Mike Rounds
Colleagues said that you got drunk at an event at a bar and chanted kill all Muslims. Another colleague not anonymous. We have this said that you took coworkers to a strip club, you were drunk, you tried to dance with strippers, you had to be held off the stage and one of you, your employees in that event filed a sexual harassment charge as a result of it. Now I know you denied these things, but isn't that the kind of behavior that if true, would be disqualifying for somebody to be Secretary of Defense?
- [66:02]
Pete Hegseth
Senator, anonymous false charges.
- [66:04]
Senator Mike Rounds
They're not anonymous. And I'll just conclude and say this to the chairman, you claim 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. We have seen multiple names of colleagues consistently throughout your career that have talked about your abusive actions.
- [66:32]
Pete Hegseth
And thank you very much. I now ask unanimous consent to enter into the record a family court order concerning the appointment of parenting time between Mr.
- [66:48]
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
Okay, we're gonna. Okay, I want folks to understand the reason I'm showing this and there's some anxiety in the chat room. It should be by the way, get my, that repeat out of my ear. The you see the intensity of Tim Kaine. Now remember what Tim Kaine's trying to do and this is why. It's murder board in advance. Okay. It's murder board in advance. They say you go through over and over again the type of Tim, Tim Kaine's asking these questions. I think Tim was the senator. Kaine was a former attorney general, I think of Virginia. And he's coming at him hard. He's trying to set up if Pete was to answer, yes, anyone. They're going to try to roll out some made up witness that come in later and say, oh, this is why they want multiple days. This is why it's so important for Wicker in the war room. Posse right now. 202-224-3121 should be working the phones of the United States Senate, particularly these Republicans. Let the staffs know you need to hang tough on Pete Hexis because he's being crucified unfairly by a bunch. He's being smeared. For two hours we've sat here, we've shown every Democrat that has come at him and there's seven minute slugs. Each one's been in full attack mode. This is not trying to find out. They've not asked really any deep policy questions about anything about really being Secretary of Defense. That's all been to the Republicans. We've shown all the attacks of the Democrats and here's why. This is what they intend to do to President Trump. Don't believe this thing. They're looking to work together of how we can make this work, of how everything can go. I'll tell you, let's cut back to the Republican real quickly and then we'll come for some wrapping up comments. Let's go back to the hearing. Yourself just I want to sketch this tattoo, a Christian tattoo. Can you elaborate just a little bit on what is this very offensive, extremist, racist tattoo that you have?
- [68:47]
Pete Hegseth
It's a tattoo I have right here, Senator. It's called the Jerusalem cross, a historic Christian symbol. In fact, interestingly recently I attended briefly the memorial ceremony of former President Jimmy Carter on the floor of our national cathedral. On the front page of his program was the very same Jerusalem cross. It is a Christian religious symbol. And when the events happened before preceding the Biden inauguration, I was a part of the mobilization to defend that inauguration. As someone who'd been a proud supporter of Donald Trump, but also a member of the military, had orders to come to Washington, D.C. to guard that inauguration. And at the last minute, those orders were revoked. I'd never had orders revoked before. I'd been on orders to a lot of places to do a lot of difficult and dangerous things. They were revoked and I was not told why. Later, when I wrote my book, I was able to get information that was because I had been identified. Someone who'd served in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in Guantanamo Bay, holding a riot shield outside the White House. I'd been identified as an extremist, someone unworthy of guarding the inauguration of an incoming American president. And if that's happening to me, Senator, how many other men and women, how many other patriots, how many other. We haven't even talked about COVID and the tens of thousands of service members who are kicked out because of an experimental vaccine in President Trump's Defense Department, they will be apologized to, they will be reinstituted with pay and rank. Things like focusing on extremism, Senator, have created a climate inside our ranks that feel political when it hasn't ever been political. Those are the types of things that are going to change. And Senator Sullivan, you mentioned that study. After a whole study was held, extremism working group study. 100 extremists were identified in the ranks of 3 million. And most of those were gang related. So it was a made up boogeyman to begin with.
- [70:56]
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
You, Mr. Hagseth, are not the extremists. The people who would deny you your expression of faith are the extremists. They're the racists, they're the. They're the bigots. You're the one that is protecting their right to be one. Thank you for that. I want to go to another point in your opening statement, and it's summarized in this beautiful one sentence paragraph. You said, quote, leaders at all levels will be held accountable. And war fighting and lethality and the readiness of the troops and their families will be our only focus. At that moment, in my mind's eye, I heard soldiers, airmen, Marines, sailors, guardians from the Pentagon to the Pacific and everywhere in between, applaud, applaud. And they're thinking, it's about time I can get on board with that idea. And quite honestly, and I want to get to this because I think it's so important. I would say, I don't know, just about every, maybe everyone I'm trying to think of an exception to this, that wears the uniform that has ever come before this committee or that I've met with privately, publicly, that I've been on tours with, that I've traveled with, that wear the uniform, whether it's with four stars or no stars, agrees with that statement. And I just want to caution you, and I'd be interested in your feedback on this. There's been a lot of talk about firing woke generals, creating the purge group, and all those things you and I have talked about. I would say give those men and women a chance under new leadership. You know, my favorite painting in the rotunda is of George Washington retiring, his commission establishing on day one, a man who could have been king chose to be a civilian leader of this country. And I just, I just would encourage you to trust them first and look forward to them saluting the civilian leadership of this country. So just maybe if you could spend a minute just elaborating a little bit about the wokeness, where it comes from and who will be held accountable.
- [73:08]
Pete Hegseth
The wokeness comes not from the uniform ranked senator, but from the political class. On day one, on January 20th, when President Trump is sworn in, he will issue a new set of lawful orders. And the leadership of our services will have an opportunity to follow those lawful orders or not. Those lawful orders will not be based on politics. They will be based on readiness, accountability standards and lethality. That is the process by which leaders will be judged. And accountability is coming because everybody in this room knows if you're a rifleman and you lose your rifle, they're throwing the book at you. But if you're a general who loses a war, you get a promotion. That's not going to happen in Donald Trump's Pentagon. There will be real standards for success. Everyone from the top, from the most senior general to the most lowly private, will ensure that they're treated fairly. Men and women inside that system.
- [74:04]
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
I also just want to commend you for your, your answers to Senator Fischer's questions about nuclear deterrence. Okay, they are. We're going to transition this over to Charlie Kirk, the Charlie Kirk Show. Charlie, I think, is going to take much of this live. I think it's very important to hear this for the audience today. I wanted you to see this without any, not just interruption, without any filter. You've seen every Democrat come at Pete Hegseth and you see exactly what they are. There's been a great unmasking today. It's not Pete Hegseth. Pete Hegseth came came with full disclosure. The great unmasking is all this. They're going to work with Trump prior to working with Trump. It's a bald faced lie. It's a bald faced lie. This is why I say this is the preamble to the days of thunder. Turn it over now to Charlie Kirk, the Charlie Kirk Show. Jack Bossog will be after that. We'll be back five to seven. I will guarantee when we're back here at 5 o'clock they'll still be coming after Pete Hegseth. So we'll put more context in it. I want to thank Real America's voice for giving the last two hours.
- [75:02]
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- [76:21]
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
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Really trying to fill this gap of.
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Pete Hegseth
Taking any other synthetic multivitamin or any.
- [76:48]
Senator Mike Rounds
Other synthetic vitamin in general.
- [76:51]
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
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- [76:58]
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Steve Bannon
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