Duckworth Votes Against Pete Hegseth’s Nomination to Serve as Secretary of Defense
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Tonight, 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—released the following statement after voting against Pete Hegseth’s nomination to serve as Secretary of Defense. After the U.S. Senate voted 50-50, Hegseth was confirmed by a tie-breaking vote from Vice President JD Vance in favor of his nomination.
“Throughout his nomination process, Pete Hegseth proved again and again that he does not have the qualifications, the breadth of knowledge or the moral fiber to lead the greatest military on the face of the earth. Managing our nation’s largest and most complex organization, the 3 million personnel who fall under its umbrella and our nearly $900 billion defense budget takes a serious candidate. Yet, it is deeply shameful that tonight—despite shouting from the rooftops that they wanted to bring meritocracy back to our military—nearly every Republican chose to confirm someone who so obviously lacks the merits to serve as our Secretary of Defense. And our brave servicemembers, our military readiness and our national security will pay the price.
“Not only does Pete Hegseth lack the experience to do the job, the mountain of abuse and sexual misconduct allegations that have come to light further underscores how unfit he is to uphold good order and discipline in our Armed Forces. Rank and file members of our great military would be held accountable for the actions Mr. Hegseth has allegedly committed and would not be able to serve, much less be promoted. It is insulting to ask our servicemembers to uphold the absolute highest standards, only to turn around and lower the standards for Pete Hegseth to lead them.
“I’m deeply concerned by the message that confirming someone as unqualified as Pete Hegseth is sending to our servicemembers—including the brave women in combat who, unlike Mr. Hegseth, have earned their roles—as well as our adversaries around the world. Our nation deserves better. In the months and years ahead, I will continue to do everything in my power to make sure our Armed Forces are as strong as possible.”
Last week, Duckworth delivered an impassioned speech on the Senate floor slamming U.S. Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth for his lack of experience and qualifications to lead the Department of Defense. Speaking next 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 underscored that it would be insulting to ask our servicemembers to train and perform to the absolute highest standards if the Senate confirms a Secretary of Defense who is wholly unprepared and unqualified to lead them in any way.
During his confirmation 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.
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