LOS ANGELES.–Whatever Hegseth allegedly did in his youth with carousing has nothing to do with his qualifications for the current job as Defense Secretary. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-Mass.) and ranking member Jack Reed (D-R.I.) received their requested FBI briefing on Hegseth. When the briefing was over, they said they didn’t have enough information. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Il.) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) both said they couldn’t get enough information from the FBI background check. Well, if an FBI background check isn’t enough, it’s obvious the Democrat senators look to anything to oppose Hegseth’s nomination. Whether Committee members met with Hegseth directly, isn’t enough to reject his nomination, on whatever grounds. Blumenthal said he’s “deeply concerned” that the panel is not fully informed about Hegseth.
Senate Democrats look poised to fight 78-year-old President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks tooth-and-nail, breaking the bipartisan tradition of giving the incoming president picks the benefit-of-the-doubt. Of course Democrat don’t like the fact that they lost the Nov. 5 presidential election but that’s the way the cookie crumbles in politics. Both parties from time-to-time have to hold their noses that vote to confirm their rival’s Cabinet picks when there are good reasons to object. When it comes to Trump’s pick for Defense Secretary, 44-year-old former Fox New host Pete Hegseth, Democrats claim they have many unanswered questions about his character, drinking and sexual habits. Democrats have gone over the top when it comes to Hegseth because he doesn’t agree with the woke agenda of promoting gender transition surgery in the military.
To get Hegseth and other Trump Cabinet picks confirmed, they need to have enough Republican votes if Democrats are too oppositional to get bipartisan cooperation. No one expects Democrats to like Hegseth, primarily because he’s Trump’s pick. Democrats fear that many of Trump’s picks are out for “retribution,” meaning Trump wants to use the Justice Department to get back at his past detractors with the Russian hoax, but, more recently, with all the recent legal cases against the President-elect. Democrats want former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s final report to release to the public to take one more shot at Trump. But voters decided Nov. 5 that they didn’t buy all the Democrat witch hunts against Trump, including whether he interfered in the 2020 presidential election. Trump wants to take government agencies out of Democrat deep state employees letting politics influence their jobs.
Blumenthal and Duckworth aren’t satisfied with the FBI background check, something routine for all presidents. Whatever information they seek is anyone’s guess but it won’t stop Hegseth from getting confirmed. Hegeseth needs to consolidate the GOP vote, not worry about how Democrat perceive him in confirmation hearings. Hegseth should tell Democrat senators that his respectfully disagrees with their assessments of him, not get into knock-down-drag-out arguments that can’t be won. Hegseth was accused by Concerned Veterans for America and Veterans for Freedom of mismanaging funds while he served briefly as executive director. “Blumenthal said he wants to see “credit care transactions and other used of resources to determine whether Hegseth is fit to run the Pentagon. Blumenthal claims Hegseth refused to meet with him before the confirmation hearings.
Hegseth’s spokesman rejected the idea that Hegseth refused to meet with Democrat senators. “This is partisan blustering designed to slow down the confirmation process at a time when it’s incredibly critical that President Trump has his national security team in place on day one,” said an aide to Hegseth. “It is simply untrue to say Mr. Hegseth has refused to meet with a and Senators, Democrat or Rebublican.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) promised to give Hegseth the worst time at the confirmation hearing demanding he supply answers to his drinking and sexual carousing in his youth. Democrats have their hands on a 22-page police report in Monterey, Calif., claiming that Hegseth sexually abused some woman in 2017. Hegseth told Senators that case was dropped by Monterey police. Warren doesn’t care if the case was dropped she’s just out to grandstand.
Warren sent Hegseth a 33-page letter with more than 70 questions, all pertaining to old reports of drinking and promiscuity. Warren should forward her concerns to the FBI because they vetted Hegseth and found no significant red flags. “I am deeply concerned by the many ways in which your behavior and rhetoric indicates that you are unfit to lead the Department of Defense,” Warren said, sounding more like her opinion than anything else. “Your confirmation as Secretary of Defense would be detrimental to tour national security and disrespect a diverse array of services who are willing to sacrifice for our country,” Warren said, referring to Hegeth’s vocal opposition to women in combat. Hegseth speaks with experience serving two tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. Hegseth opposes the use of VA benefits to pay for transgender sex change operations, something Warren supports.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
