Duckworth Slams Pete Hegseth on His Lack of Qualifications to Serve as Defense Secretary During Senate Confirmation Hearing
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Today, combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—a member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee who served 23 years in the Reserve Forces—slammed U.S. Secretary of Defense expected nominee Pete Hegseth on his utter lack of experience and qualifications to lead the Department of Defense at his confirmation hearing. Pointing to a framed copy of the Soldier’s Creed—a copy that hangs over her desk in the Senate and hung above her bed during her recovery at Walter Reed Medical Center after the helicopter she co-piloted was shot down—Duckworth urged Mr. Hegseth to follow this Creed as our servicemembers do every day, placing the mission above personal ambition. Duckworth’s full remarks can be found on the Senator’s YouTube.
“Every day, our servicemembers follow the Soldier’s Creed as we ask them to leave their families, walk into enemy fire and be ready for the mission until their very last breath,” said Duckworth. “How can we ask these warriors to train to the absolute highest standard, if we confirm a guy who is asking us to lower the standard to make him Secretary of Defense? The very idea that Pete Hegseth is the person to lead our heroes is an insult to the troops who sacrifice so much for the rest of us.”
At the hearing, Duckworth demonstrated some of the areas where Mr. Hegseth lacks the experience or knowledge that a serious Defense Secretary nominee should have, grilling him on basic questions that he failed to answer. She asked him if he ever led an audit. He would not confirm. She asked him to describe at least one of the main international security agreements a Secretary of Defense is responsible for leading. He could not name any. She asked him to name at least one nation that is a part of ASEAN, an organization with several member states who have mutual defense treaties, alliances or enhanced defense cooperation agreements with the U.S. None of the three countries he named were correct.
The full text of the Soldier’s Creed reads as follows:
I am an American Soldier.
I am a warrior and a member of a team.
I serve the people of the United States, and live the Army Values.
I will always place the mission first.
I will never accept defeat.
I will never quit.
I will never leave a fallen comrade.
I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills.
I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself.
I am an expert and I am a professional.
I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy, the enemies of the United States of America in close combat.
I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life.
I am an American Soldier.
Since Donald Trump tapped Pete Hegseth to serve as Secretary of Defense, Duckworth has remained one of Hegseth’s sharpest critics. This week, Duckworth and U.S. Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ)—a fellow combat Veteran and member of SASC—penned an op-ed underscoring that Pete Hegseth lacks the merits to be our next Defense Secretary. Last month, Duckworth joined her fellow SASC members in sending a letter to Susan Wiles, President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming Chief of Staff, about whether Pete Hegseth’s attitudes toward women and allegations of sexual assault and harassment disqualify him to be the next Secretary of Defense.
Duckworth is a proven leader and fierce advocate for our servicemembers, Veterans and their families. In the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that was signed into law, Duckworth secured several important provisions that support our servicemembers and their families, enhance strategic partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region, improve logistics to bolster readiness and energy resiliency as well as continue to restore American competitiveness.
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