Secretary of Defense <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/lloyd-austin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lloyd Austin</a>’s decision not to disclose his medical issues last year &#8220;unnecessarily” increased risks to national security, the Defense Department’s Inspector General found. 
Inspector General Robert Storch released a <a href="https://media.defense.gov/2025/Jan/15/2003628254/-1/-1/1/DODIG-2025-058%20---%20REDACTED_PUBLIC%20RELEASE%20-%20UPDATED.PDF" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lengthy report</a> on Wednesday, finding that Austin left his staff in the dark when he underwent multiple medical procedures from December 2023 into January 2024. At one point, Storch wrote that when Austin was hospitalized in early January that Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks was the acting secretary of defense without knowing it. 
Storch said it was a “national security imperative” for the Defense Department to improve its procedures for future similar situations. 
“The ability for the DoD and the government to operate seamlessly and the continuity of leadership under any and all circumstances are fundamental to our national security,” he said. “Although we found no adverse consequences to DoD operations arising from how the hospitalizations we reviewed were handled, the risks to our national defense, including the command and control of the DoD’s critical national security operations, were increased unnecessarily.”
The secrecy surrounding Austin’s medical procedures began on December 22, 2023, when he had prostatectomy at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Days later, on January 1, an ambulance took him back to the hospital after he “experienced medical complications.” 
Storch wrote that Austin’s condition “worsened” on January 2, and his staff directed the transfer of authority to Hicks. 
“Secretary Austin’s strong desire for privacy about his medical condition is a thread that runs through all the events that we reviewed, including in his public statements about his hospitalization,” the report found. “His desire for privacy was well known by his staff and affected many of the events at issue in various ways.”
Austin did not tell Hicks, his chief of staff, General Charles Brown, Lieutenant General Ronald Clark, his senior military assistant, and “nearly all of his staff” about his December 22 procedure, according to the report. 
The only people at the DoD who knew he was going to the hospital were his Personal Security Officer (PSO) and Junior Military Assistant (JMA). Storch wrote that Austin should have informed Congress and the White House about the procedure. 
When Austin was later transported to the hospital on January 1, the report found that the “weight of the evidence” showed that the defense secretary told them not to use lights or sirens and told his security officer that “we’re not notifying anybody.”
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Austin told investigators he believed he was going to be released from the hospital within a “couple of hours” and again did not tell Hicks, his chief of staff, or Clark about his hospitalization, according to the report. 
Storch wrote that Austin only told his security officer to cancel his meetings for the next 48 hours, leaving everyone on his staff in the dark except his junior military assistant. 
“No one on Secretary Austin’s staff knew the seriousness of his condition, including when his condition became worse and he was transferred to the Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) on January 2,” the report found. 
Once he was moved to the surgical unit, top DoD officials learned of the situation, and authority was transferred to Hicks, Storch said. 
As a result of the situation, Storch recommended 20 actions that the DoD should implement new policies that enhance communication and ensure that a similar situation doesn’t occur. The DoD has agreed to take the recommended steps, Storch said. 
Last year, after the situation was widely reported, Austin held a press conference where he apologized for the incident. 
“We did not handle this right, and I did not handle this right,” Austin <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/defense-secretary-lloyd-austin-out-again-with-medical-issues" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “I should’ve told the president about my cancer diagnosis. I should have also told my team and the American public. And I take full responsibility. I apologize to my teammates and to the American people.”

25th Ukraine Defense Contact Group Meeting

‘We’re Not Notifying Anybody’: Scathing IG Report Released On SecDef’s Medical Secrecy

Department of Defense

Inspector general

Lloyd Austin

National Security

Politics

Democrats thought they were going to be able to get Pete Hegseth in the crosshairs and then do serious damage to him and to Republicans for having nominated him.
Boy, were they wrong.
Hegseth was great. Not just good — but great. Iconically great.
Yesterday, in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Democrat after Democrat lined up to attack him, particularly on his personal life. And Hegseth weathered it like a champ. He came back at them when they made particularly stupid statements, and he said some things that needed to be said.
This is a very different Secretary of Defense nominee. Not only did Hegseth actually serve in the infantry, not only is he a graduate of Harvard and Princeton who is quite bright, but Hegseth also has the perspective of the guy on the ground doing the fighting. He is not a political general who&#8217;s elevated through the ranks for being able to get along with his superiors.
That&#8217;s not who Hegseth is. He&#8217;s an outsider who&#8217;s being brought in to shake things up, because guess what? The Department of Defense needs a good shaking-up. 
He said a lot of things yesterday. Many of them were quite wonderful.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-2117-member-exclusive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h3>
He was questioned about his adherence, for example, to the Geneva Conventions and questioned about his comments that American war fighters have to be given the ability to actually win. He <a href="https://x.com/bennyjohnson/status/1879215208306266206" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a>, “We are a country that fights by the rule of law and our men and women always do,” he said. “And yet we have too many people here in air-conditioned offices that like to point fingers at the guys in dark and dangerous places, the gals in helicopters in enemy territory who are doing things that people in Washington, D.C. would never dare to do.”
That is exactly right. The Department of Defense should be about destroying the enemy. The attempt of so many on the Left to hamstring our ability to win wars — using every tool at their disposal, including warfare — is awful, and Hegseth is going to put an end to it.
Hegseth talked about diversity, equity, and inclusion, about the lowering of standards in order to “diversify” the American military.
He said that being good at your job should matter. These are basic notions. The fact the Democratic Party abandoned all this is why they just got shellacked in the elections.
He <a href="https://x.com/bennyjohnson/status/1879204541423329345" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a>, “In those ground combat roles, what is true is that the weight of the ruck on your back doesn&#8217;t change; the weight of the 155 round that you have to carry doesn&#8217;t change; the weight of the 240 Bravo machine gun you might have to carry doesn&#8217;t change.
And so whether it&#8217;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 [where] 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.”
This is such common sense. That is why he&#8217;s going to make an excellent Secretary of Defense. We are no longer going to have General Mark Milley talking about the problems of white rage and how diversity is our greatest strength. It turns out the greatest strength of the military is effectiveness and lethality, its ability to kill the bad guys and pursue American interests.
That also means thinning out the ranks of the political generals. Asked about the staff numbers exploding, Hegseth <a href="https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1879220429472292905">responded</a>:
<blockquote>We&#8217;re going to address that. We won World War II with seven four-star generals. Today we have 44 four-star generals. There&#8217;s an inverse relationship between the size of staffs and victory on the battlefield. We don&#8217;t need more bureaucracy at the top. We need more warfighters empowered at the bottom. So it&#8217;s going to be my job working with those that we hire and those inside the administration to identify those places where fat can be cut so it can go toward lethality. </blockquote>
Of course he’s right. He also said that you don&#8217;t get to lose wars and keep your job. “Everybody in this room knows if you&#8217;re a rifleman and you lose your rifle, they&#8217;re throwing the book at you,” he <a href="https://x.com/bennyjohnson/status/1879214299501220221" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a>. “But if you&#8217;re a general who loses a war, you get a promotion. That&#8217;s not going to happen in Donald Trump&#8217;s Pentagon. There will be real standards for success. Everyone from the top, from the most senior general to the most lowly private — we’ll ensure that they&#8217;re treated fairly.”
Totally correct.
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One of the things Hegseth has going for him is not only his military background and the fact he&#8217;s very bright, but he also happens to be incredibly telegenic. He was a TV star, which means he is great on TV and knows how to speak in front of a crowd.
“Unlike the current administration, politics should play no part in military matters,” he <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/news/live-blog/pete-hegseth-senate-confirmation-hearing-live-updates-rcna187033" target="_blank" rel="noopener">declared</a>. “We are not Republicans. We are not Democrats. We are American warriors. Our standards will be high and they will be equal, not equitable. That&#8217;s a very different word.”
This is all great. He was asked about foreign policy and <a href="https://x.com/EYakoby/status/1879199280927498752" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>, “I support Israel destroying and killing every last member of Hamas.”
Right again.
This is the right man for the job.
You couldn’t find anyone who understands what is needed better than Pete Hegseth.

Senate Armed Services Committee Holds Confirmation Hearing For Pete Hegseth

War Fighter: Hegseth Stuns Democrats At Confirmation Hearing

Cabinet

Democrats

Donald Trump

Opinion

Pete Hegseth

U.S. Army

U.S. Military

U.S. Navy

U.S. Senate

It now appears to be all but certain that Pete Hegseth will be confirmed as the next Secretary of Defense. Republican leaders in the Senate have said as much. And it&#8217;s not hard to see why that&#8217;s the case. After weeks of telling us that Hegseth is unqualified for the job, Democrats spent several hours trying — and utterly failing —  to land a single meaningful blow against his nomination.
Instead, Hegseth came across as a Christian who&#8217;s very aware of his own past personal failings, but he was also able to put those failings in context. Under the leadership of former Raytheon board member Lloyd Austin, the Pentagon carried out political purges in the military. It oversaw a catastrophic withdrawal from Afghanistan. It terminated thousands of soldiers who didn&#8217;t want to take the experimental COVID shot. Those are colossal failings that no one in the Pentagon has ever atoned for. Pete Hegseth is not a perfect man. Who is? But he is a saint compared to the people who ran the old regime. And after <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hegseth-kicks-ass-confirm-him-now" target="_blank" rel="noopener">yesterday&#8217;s hearing</a>, no reasonable person can deny that.
Throughout the hearing, Democrats discredited themselves, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/talking-points-assemble-democrat-women-launch-dishonest-but-coordinated-attack-in-hegseth-hearing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one after another</a>, with botched gotcha-moments and non-sequiturs. And the optics could not have been worse, as women kept screaming at Hegseth, all while trying to make the argument that women are just as capable of serving in combat roles as men. If there was a way to weaponize nagging so that you could literally nag your enemies to death, they may have a point. These women could create a weapon of mass nagging destruction and kill thousands of enemy combatants at once, if that was possible.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/mws-ep-1515-member-exclusive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Matt Walsh Show</a></h3>
Before we get into that particular part of the hearing, it&#8217;s important to set the stage with some of the many blunders I&#8217;m referring to.
Here for example is Senator Gary Peters of Michigan, attempting to make the point that Hegseth has no business running the Defense Department, because he has never, &#8220;driven innovation&#8221; in any organization in his life. Here&#8217;s how that went:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="001 Peters gotcha" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wD_wP3ynsTM?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
&nbsp;
Obviously, he asked a question he didn&#8217;t know the answer to. That&#8217;s the first mistake. He then made it clear that didn&#8217;t really care about the answer to his question, either. And total humiliation was the result.
Even aside from that, what&#8217;s extraordinary about his question is that Lloyd Austin had exactly the kind of experience that Gary Peters is talking about. Austin was in charge of the war effort in both Iraq and Afghanistan for many years. According to Democrats in Congress, that made Austin qualified to be Secretary of Defense — even though both of those wars ended in complete disaster. This is what &#8220;box-checking&#8221; looks like. These people cannot comprehend the idea of hiring someone who hasn&#8217;t made money in the defense industry, and who hasn&#8217;t overseen two failed wars. They see that as a mark against Hegseth, instead of the primary reason to confirm him.
Not to be outdone, there was Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, coming in hot with his own takedown. Watch:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="003 jagoff" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PrVVZnySgUg?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The implication is that Pete Hegseth is a terrible guy because he&#8217;s used the word &#8220;jagoff&#8221; in the past. I think that Hegseth throwing around insults like that does open him up to the charge of being a Boomer. I’m not sure it says anything more than that, however. Then, when Hegseth answers the question, Jack Reed looks stunned. One might even say he looked like a jagoff.
I do want to highlight one moment of substantive discussion, however, to the extent anything in this hearing could be described as &#8220;substantive.&#8221; Several senators took turns berating Hegseth over his stance on women in the military. In particular, Hegseth says he’s generally fine with women in combat roles, but at a minimum, he wants the fitness standards to be equal across genders. Effectively, as I&#8217;ll explain in a moment, that actually means he doesn&#8217;t want women to serve in combat roles. You aren’t going to say it as directly as that in a hearing like this, because the whole point is that you need to be confirmed. If Hegseth had just come out and said plainly that he doesn’t want any women in combat, that would have given squishy Republicans all the excuse they need to not confirm him. So instead he focused on the fitness requirements, which was strategically smart.
In response to his position on fitness requirements, various senators adopted the bizarre (and clearly false) position that the standards between men and women in the military are already the same. Watch:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="008 Pete Hegseth Response" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VzQnY2jdJqM?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Before we look at Hegseth&#8217;s response to this line of question, it&#8217;s important to point out that nothing Kirsten Gillibrand just said is true. The standards of physical fitness, across every branch of the armed forces, are much lower for women than they are for men. 
Let&#8217;s start with the fitness requirements at the Navy.
<div id="attachment_859191" style="width: 798px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-859191" class="wp-image-859191 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/xLUFoxE-Imgur-788x576.png" alt="Navy Physical Readiness Program. Guide 5. Physical Readiness Test (PRT). January 2023." width="788" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/xLUFoxE-Imgur-788x576.png 788w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/xLUFoxE-Imgur-300x219.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/xLUFoxE-Imgur-768x562.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/xLUFoxE-Imgur.png 971w" sizes="(max-width: 788px) 100vw, 788px" />Navy Physical Readiness Program. Guide 5. Physical Readiness Test (PRT). January 2023.</div>
As you can see, their physical readiness test <a href="https://www.mynavyhr.navy.mil/Portals/55/Support/Culture%20Resilience/Physical/Guide_5-Physical_Readiness_Test_PRT_JAN_2023.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">consists</a> of some variation of push-ups, forearm planks, a 1.5 mile run and a 500-yard swim. So let&#8217;s take the run as an example — which by the way, the Navy refers to as a &#8220;Run/walk&#8221; section, because they expect applicants won&#8217;t be able to run the full distance.
For men aged 17 to 19, a &#8220;satisfactory&#8221; time on the 1.5 mile run is 12 minutes and 15 seconds. For women in the same age group, a &#8220;satisfactory time&#8221; is 14 minutes and 45 seconds. So they get a full 2 minutes and 30 second extra to complete this run. And by the way, you can technically get even worse times than this, and still pass — because there&#8217;s a whole &#8220;probationary&#8221; level below &#8220;satisfactory.&#8221;
For push-ups, the difference is even more stark. Men aged 17 to 19 have to hit 46 pushups for a &#8220;satisfactory&#8221; rank. Women only need to hit 20. Meanwhile, the minimum &#8220;outstanding&#8221; score for men is 86 pushups, while it&#8217;s only 47 pushups for women.
If you go to the Army&#8217;s website, you&#8217;ll find similar numbers across their <a href="https://www.army.mil/acft/">physical fitness test</a>.
<div id="attachment_859193" style="width: 650px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-859193" class="wp-image-859193 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/tpgAQ93-Imgur-640x576.png" alt="Courtesy U.S. Army. https://www.army.mil/acft/" width="640" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/tpgAQ93-Imgur-640x576.png 640w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/tpgAQ93-Imgur-300x270.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/tpgAQ93-Imgur-768x691.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/tpgAQ93-Imgur.png 1016w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" />Courtesy U.S. Army. https://www.army.mil/acft/</div>
This is the &#8220;Sprint, drag, carry&#8221; test, for example. It&#8217;s a test that obviously has a lot of relevance to people who want to serve in the Army, in case they need to carry a wounded soldier — and not blame them for being wounded, as they do in the Los Angeles Fire Department. As you can see, men get max points if they finish the test in one minute, 29 seconds. Women get max points if they finish it in one minute, 55 seconds. So they get an additional 26 seconds to &#8220;sprint, drag and carry&#8221; someone.
Just to underscore the real-world consequences of this kind of gender-based testing, <a href="https://x.com/thespearing/status/1879301761082782078" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here&#8217;s a post</a> from someone named Nathan Spearing:
<blockquote>In 2005, I was 22 and had one of the top PT scores in my platoon in Ranger Battalion. One night, one of my mates was shot and completely immobilized. I worked with a small group of men to get him to the casualty evacuation point, while our platoon continued the raid. Dragging him through the streets of Iraq that night I felt like I&#8217;d never worked out in my life. I was one of the most physically fit men in an elite light infantry unit and this combat related task took me well beyond my physical capacities. Women shouldn&#8217;t do these jobs ever. They can&#8217;t without endangering the mission and the men around them.</blockquote>
The military appears to be fine with that. The Air Force, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard and even the Space Force have similar arrangements. Here for example is the Coast Guard&#8217;s breakdown of <a href="https://www.dcms.uscg.mil/Portals/10/CG-1/cg133/pdf/Boat_Crew_Fitness_Test.pdf?ver=2019-08-01-083908-503">fitness standards</a>, explicitly aligned with men on top, and women on the bottom:
<div id="attachment_859195" style="width: 767px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-859195" class="wp-image-859195 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/wFKTyXd-Imgur-757x576.png" alt="Courtesy: U.S. Coast Guard physical fitness standards. https://www.dcms.uscg.mil/Portals/10/CG-1/cg133/pdf/Boat_Crew_Fitness_Test.pdf?ver=2019-08-01-083908-503 " width="757" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/wFKTyXd-Imgur-757x576.png 757w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/wFKTyXd-Imgur-300x228.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/wFKTyXd-Imgur-768x585.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/wFKTyXd-Imgur.png 846w" sizes="(max-width: 757px) 100vw, 757px" />Courtesy: U.S. Coast Guard physical fitness standards.</div>
As you can see, men need to do 29 push-ups if they&#8217;re under 30 years old. Women only need to do 15. Meanwhile, over in the <a href="https://www.marines.com/become-a-marine/requirements/physical-fitness.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marines</a>, men need to do three pull-ups or 34 push-ups in 2 minutes, while women only have to do 1 pull-up or 15 push-ups in the same time period.
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I could go on, but you get the point. There is nothing &#8220;gender-neutral&#8221; about the fitness standards for any branch of the armed services. This is not up for debate. It can&#8217;t be disputed. It is simply a fact that standards are lowered for women, and that’s been the case for decades now. It’s also a fact that the standards for men have also been lowered. There has been an effort to get more women into the military, and also less fit men. These two goals are obviously related to each other. In truth, 46 pushups is not satisfactory for a grown man who wants to join the military. For the Coast Guard the number is 29, which is downright pathetic. We should expect a lot more of the people who are tasked with defending this country from its enemies.
But what Gillibrand was saying is that, at the urging of Congress, certain specialties — like the infantry — have adopted their own, independent &#8220;gender-neutral standards&#8221; on top of the basic requirements. But that hasn&#8217;t been going well, either.
As the Army Times <a href="https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2022/03/23/army-combat-fitness-test-debuts-with-major-changes-to-scoring-april-1/">reported</a> in 2022: 
<blockquote>The Army is moving forward with its long-awaited Army Combat Fitness Test this year, but the service has officially dropped the test’s attempt to set a gender- and age-neutral physical fitness standard &#8230; The leg tuck is no longer an event. &#8230; A 2.5-mile walk has been added as an alternate aerobic event for troops whose medical profiles prevent them from running. &#8230; A total of 48% of active duty enlisted women and 28% of active duty female officers could not pass the test.</blockquote>
In other words, they tried to make the test &#8220;gender-neutral,&#8221; and women kept failing it. So they responded by gutting the test, and making it a lot easier. And after all that, it&#8217;s still not &#8220;gender-neutral.&#8221;
In his answer to Kirsten Gillibrand, Pete Hegseth attempted to make these points. He also outlined his own first-hand observation of lowered standards in the military. And Kirsten Gillibrand responded by shrieking at him:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="004 Gillibrand" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KqsT2jlCVj0?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
This was the theme of the hearing: Democrats demand an answer, they get one they don&#8217;t like, so they start screaming.
The truth, obviously, is that if men and women were held to the same standard in the military, there wouldn&#8217;t be any women in the military. Pete Hegseth may not want to say that out loud at a confirmation hearing — which makes sense — but it&#8217;s the truth. Including women in the military necessitates, by definition, lowering the standard. That&#8217;s why I say we should raise the standard for everyone, make it the same for everyone, and then let the chips fall where they may. The inevitable result is that they&#8217;ll fall on an all-male fighting force, which is how it should be.
Of course, even aside from the fact that women can&#8217;t do the job as well, they shouldn&#8217;t be serving in combat regardless. A functional society does not send women out to die on the battlefield. They are not equipped for it, physically or psychologically. But our government has been denying this basic fact for years. 
A decade ago, when the defense secretary at the time opened up all combat roles to women, he said, &#8220;They’ll be allowed to drive tanks, fire mortars and lead infantry soldiers into combat.&#8221; He made that seem like it was a sign of great progress. But it’s a sign of decay, not progress. It’s also a sign that we’re going to lose the next major war we’re a part of, unless we turn back from this madness. And after yesterday&#8217;s confirmation hearing, finally, it seems like we&#8217;ll have a defense secretary who understands that.

Confirmation Hearing Held For Secretary Of Defense Nominee Pete Hegseth

Nagging Democrats Shriek At Pete Hegseth During Confirmation Hearing

Gary Peters

Kirsten Gillibrand

NewsNation host <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/chris-cuomo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chris Cuomo</a> unloaded on Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) during a Tuesday segment addressing the confirmation hearing for decorated Army veteran Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump&#8217;s pick to lead the Pentagon.
Cuomo recapped parts of Hegseth&#8217;s televised hearing before the Senate Armed Forces Committee, and he argued that Kaine&#8217;s single-minded focus on Hegseth&#8217;s prior marital troubles had swung wide of the mark.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Chris Cuomo torches Democratic senators for their behavior during <a href="https://twitter.com/PeteHegseth?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PeteHegseth</a>&#39;s SECDEF confirmation hearing: 
&quot;Bipartisan national security commission found we are not ready for war with China or Russia…and Sen. Tim Kaine wants to talk to exhaustion about his marriage.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/4TmR0F5Np7">pic.twitter.com/4TmR0F5Np7</a>
&mdash; The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) <a href="https://twitter.com/TPostMillennial/status/1879358983003328729?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Although Cuomo was harshest on Kaine, he was critical of several of the senators who had questioned Hegseth during the sometimes-contentious hearing that had taken place earlier that day.
&#8220;My opinion is we saw the enemy today at Pete Hegseth’s Armed Services Committee hearing, and it’s us. Not you, but the toxic game of division played by the people who we put in power,&#8221; he began.
&#8220;What questions would you have for a potential secretary of defense?&#8221; Cuomo asked then, offering his own suggestions: &#8220;What are you going to do about China, Russia, terror, Pentagon size, drones?&#8221;
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But then he pivoted to what the Democrats on the committee had actually asked Hegseth about, adding, &#8220;Or would your top concern be his marriage? Is your biggest fear that an army of trans folk are going to take over? Because those were the concerns that the most deliberative body in the world focused on today.&#8221;
Cuomo then directly referenced Kaine&#8217;s line of questioning — a series of queries all related to Hegseth&#8217;s marital infidelities and whether or not he was fit to serve if he&#8217;d broken his marriage vows: &#8220;Here is the moment that Democrats are choosing to send around the internet as their big win: Senator Tim Kaine giving Hegseth the Bill Clinton.&#8221;
&#8220;Two points of disgust: How many people on that committee, how many in Congress, could pass the Kaine test that you can’t honor an oath to serve if you’ve ever been unfaithful?&#8221; Cuomo asked, taking much the same position as Senator Markwayne Mullin had during the hearing. &#8220;Kaine may be sitting in that room alone.&#8221;
“Who cares when we are talking about being the top warrior, not our pastor?&#8221; Cuomo took the argument a step further. &#8220;I’ll tell you who agreed with me once about this: Tim Kaine. He supported Bill Clinton for president. He didn’t say he couldn’t serve despite all he knew about his peccadilloes. He still backed him. Why? Is president not as important an oath? So, what changed?&#8221;

2017 Turner Upfront

Chris Cuomo Flames Tim Kaine For Ridiculous Line Of Questions In Hegseth Hearing

Chris Cuomo

Media

Tim Kaine

Sen. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joni-ernst" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joni Ernst</a> (R-IA) said Tuesday evening that she has decided to vote to confirm Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense following his confirmation hearing earlier in the day.
Ernst made the remarks during an interview with Simon Conway on NEWSRADIO 1040 WHO.
&#8220;He was adequately able to answer all of my questions, he pointed out the woke issues at the Pentagon, and I think we are [at] a point where now we can start moving forward,&#8221; Ernst said. &#8220;People know where he stands on these issues, so I felt it was a good hearing.&#8221;
When asked if she would now vote to confirm Hegseth, Ernst responded: &#8220;Yes, I will be supporting President Trump&#8217;s pick for Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth.&#8221;
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
BREAKING: Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) announces that she is now voting to confirm Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense. <a href="https://t.co/wHsI4YVnNI">pic.twitter.com/wHsI4YVnNI</a>
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) <a href="https://twitter.com/RealSaavedra/status/1879310328540139565?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
Ernst was the main hurdle that Hegseth faced on the road to being confirmed as he first had to get voted out of the Senate Armed Services Committee before the full Senate could vote on whether to confirm him. 
Hegseth has faced scrutiny after a past misconduct, some of which he has owned up to while he has vigorously denied allegations made in anonymously sourced reports.

Screen Shot 2022-07-14 at 10.39.30 AM

Joni Ernst Announces She Will Now Vote To Confirm Pete Hegseth

Congress

Joni Ernst

Pete Hegseth has begun his hearings for Secretary of Defense. He needs to be confirmed because let&#8217;s face it: Pete is awesome.
Democrats are determined they are going to club his nomination.
None of that is going to happen. Hegseth is going to be confirmed. He’s a military colonel who went to Princeton. The attempt to claim that “he’s just a Fox host” is garbage. It’s not true.
He has all the right principles for DOD. He wants to come in and clean house.
And — he also happens to have all the right enemies.
The people who despise Hegseth the most are members of the far-Left — people who want to weaken the military, people who seem very happy, for example, with the botched Afghanistan withdrawal.
The Hegseth hearings began with a lot of fireworks because some of the Code Pink protesters showed up. They lined up, all wearing idiotic uniforms and carrying signs that said things like, “No Hegseth, no Crusade” and “No Hegseth, No Christian Jihad.”
Stop, guys; I already support him. You can&#8217;t do anything to make me support him any more.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-2116-member-exclusive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h3>
Hegseth’s opening statement was exactly what you would expect from him, which is to say it was excellent and articulate, including all the right principles.
Hegseth praised the Lord for his nomination. You could see Democrats’ heads exploding because he mentioned Jesus.
This is great. You have a man of faith who is actually leading the Department of Defense. I think that&#8217;s a very good thing. He <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14283863/pete-hegseth-senate-confirmation-confronts-sexual-exploits.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a>:
<blockquote>I&#8217;m not a perfect person, as has been acknowledged. By the grace of God, by Jesus and Jenny [his wife]. I&#8217;m not a perfect person. But redemption is real. And God forged me in ways that I know I&#8217;m prepared for. And I&#8217;m honored by the people standing and sitting behind me. And I look forward to leading this Pentagon on behalf of the war fighters.</blockquote>
Then, he proceeded to talk about some of his policy prescriptions. He <a href="https://www.instagram.com/cpac/reel/DE0SSGnPvMB/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spoke</a> of the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal:
<blockquote>There&#8217;s been no accountability for the disaster of the withdrawal in Afghanistan. And that&#8217;s precisely why we&#8217;re here today. Leadership has been unwilling to take accountability, and it&#8217;s the time to restore that to our most senior ranks.</blockquote>
Hegseth also talked about getting rid of diversity, equity, and inclusion as a priority at the DOD. He said it needs to be a lethal, war-fighting machine, not an initiative for making people feel better about their woke choices. He <a href="https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/hegseth_opening_statement.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>:
<blockquote>Our standards will be high, and they will be equal (not equitable, that is a very different word). We need to make sure every warrior is fully qualified on their assigned weapon system, every pilot is fully qualified and current on the aircraft they are flying, and every general or flag officer is selected for leadership based purely on performance, readiness, and merit. Leaders—at all levels—will be held accountable. And warfighting and lethality—and the readiness of the troops and their families—will be our only focus.</blockquote>
Hegseth suggested our top priorities include winning a nuclear war. He also declared, “I support Israel killing every last member of Hamas.” That sounds good to me, and it should sound good to civilized people everywhere.
We have serious issues on the table. We have a continued war in Ukraine. We have Iran still making moves in the Middle East. We have Turkey now making incursions into Syria.
But we also have the possibility of protecting Taiwan from Chinese predations and containing Chinese predation. We have the possibility of standing up to the Iranian terror fighting nexus and Turkish operations.
This is a moment of opportunity for the United States military — if we can seize it, if we can change our procurement processes, if we can change how we actually recruit, if we can change how the American war machine works.
Hegseth is going to go in there with a chainsaw and cut a lot of the deadwood.
He&#8217;s a threat to the system, which is precisely why he deserves our support.
Another thing: If they thought they would destroy him in this hearing, they were out of their damned minds.
* * *
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TOPSHOT-US-POLITICS-CONGRESS-DEFENSE-HEGSETH

Hegseth Kicks Ass: Confirm Him Now

Ben Shapiro

Federal Government

The Democrat women of the Senate&#8217;s Armed Services Committee were all clearly working from the same playbook during Tuesday morning&#8217;s hearing for decorated Army veteran <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/pete-hegseth" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pete Hegseth</a>, President-elect Donald Trump&#8217;s choice to lead the Pentagon.
While there were a few substantive questions directed at Hegseth, who acquitted himself calmly and rationally throughout, the majority of the time allotted to the Democratic women was devoted to dishonest and repeated attempts to conflate comments Hegseth has made about women serving in direct combat roles with an outright opposition to all women in military service.
Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) pointed out the fact that women currently make up 18% of the United States military — and Hegseth agreed with her that they were a vital part of the mission.
Shaheen then referred to Hegseth&#8217;s comments from a podcast last year, when he said, &#8220;I’m straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles. It hasn’t made us more effective. Hasn’t made us more lethal. Has made fighting more complicated.&#8221;
Hegseth has also said on more than one occasion that he absolutely respected and valued the women with whom he&#8217;d served, and that his concern was solely related to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/im-not-a-general-pete-hegseth-tomahawks-sen-warrens-attempted-smear-with-just-4-words" target="_blank" rel="noopener">direct combat roles</a> and the fact that in order to ensure more women met the qualifications to serve in such roles, standards were often lowered.
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Still, Shaheen pressed on as though he&#8217;d said there was no place for women in the military at all — and then suggested that he was only agreeing with her that women played a valuable role because he thought it might help his chances at getting confirmed.
&#8220;What I&#8217;m confused about Mr. Hegseth is, which is it?” Shaheen asked. “Why should women in our military, if you were the secretary of Defense, believe that they would have a fair shot at an equal opportunity to rise through the ranks if, on the one hand you say that women are not competent, they make our military less effective, and on the other hand, you say, ‘Oh no, now that I&#8217;ve been nominated to be the secretary of Defense, I&#8217;ve changed my view.’&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen presses Pete Hegseth on conflicting statements regarding his stance on women in the military.
Hegseth: &quot;It&#39;s not about the capabilities of men and women, it&#39;s about standards.&quot;
Shaheen: &quot;I appreciate your 11th hour conversion.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/SURuMFpSHY">https://t.co/SURuMFpSHY</a> <a href="https://t.co/NB8dBjMMko">pic.twitter.com/NB8dBjMMko</a>
&mdash; ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) <a href="https://twitter.com/ABCPolitics/status/1879196923309047874?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) ripped a page from the same playbook, claiming, &#8220;For 12 years, you were quite open about your views, and your views were consistently the same: women are inferior soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, and guardians. Then on November 9, 2024, just 32 days after your last public comments saying that women absolutely should not be in combat, you declare that ‘some of our greatest warriors are women.'&#8221;
&#8220;I very much appreciate you bringing up my comments from 2013, because for me, this issue has always been about standards,&#8221; Hegseth replied — and every time he attempted to clarify his position further, Warren interrupted, talking over him and substituting her own assessment for his.
Warren also ultimately suggested that Hegseth had only just changed his views upon receiving a nomination to serve in Trump&#8217;s cabinet: &#8220;I have heard of deathbed conversions but this is the first I’ve heard of a nomination conversion.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Sen. Elizabeth Warren questions Pete Hegseth about women in combat roles, telling him &quot;I&#39;ve heard of deathbed conversions, but this is the first time I&#39;ve heard of a nomination conversion.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/auFB1Jif2U">pic.twitter.com/auFB1Jif2U</a>
&mdash; The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) <a href="https://twitter.com/TPostMillennial/status/1879218845224669366?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) raised her voice, repeatedly scolding Hegseth based solely on the false equivalence between his actual position and the one she and her Democratic colleagues had fabricated for him.
&#8220;In all of these other circumstances, you denigrated active duty service members. We have hundreds – HUNDREDS of women who are currently in the infantry. &#8230; You degrade them. You say, we need moms but not in the military, especially in combat units,&#8221; she complained, adding, &#8220;You&#8217;re basically saying women, after they have children, can&#8217;t ever serve in the military in a combat role. It&#8217;s — it&#8217;s — it&#8217;s a — it&#8217;s a silly thing to say. It&#8217;s a silly thing to say, beneath the position that you are aspiring to. To denigrate LGBTQ service members is a mistake.&#8221;
&#8220;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,&#8221; she demanded.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand yells at Hegseth for statements about not wanting to have women serve in combat roles: &quot;We have hundreds – HUNDREDS of women who are currently in the infantry&#8230;You degrade them. You say, we need moms but not in the military, especially in combat units. <a href="https://t.co/LhNKrD4FoV">pic.twitter.com/LhNKrD4FoV</a>
&mdash; Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) <a href="https://twitter.com/Julio_Rosas11/status/1879198683616719115?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI), in addition to accusing Hegseth of being willing to shoot protesters and lead a military takeover of Greenland, cited Hegseth&#8217;s &#8220;inflammatory statements&#8221; and demanded to know, &#8220;If confirmed, will you commit to defend, not denigrate our troops?&#8221;
Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), who lost her legs in war, held up her copy of The Soldier&#8217;s Creed as a visual aid and suggested that somehow Hegseth was not up to the same standard she claimed for herself.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Nauseating meltdowns, down to the prepared remarks and sighs that come off like stage cues from Illinois Democrat Senator Tammy Duckworth, arguing he&#39;s somehow not emblematic of the Soldier&#39;s Creed (unlike her b/c of her own service and war injuries)
Disgusting. <a href="https://t.co/IGJGLyUw5V">pic.twitter.com/IGJGLyUw5V</a>
&mdash; Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) <a href="https://twitter.com/CurtisHouck/status/1879228021392990224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Hegseth clarified his position on several occasions during the hearing, but it did nothing to dissuade the Democrats from talking over him — perhaps in the hopes that no one would hear him pointing out how disingenuous they were — and pushing their own agenda in place of his words.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Incoming Secretary of Defense <a href="https://twitter.com/PeteHegseth?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PeteHegseth</a>: I&#39;m incredibly grateful for the two women who&#39;ve served our military in uniform&#8230; When I&#39;m talking about that issue, it&#39;s not about the capabilities of men and women, it&#39;s about standards — standards that we have seen eroded. <a href="https://t.co/Q4VPYsVFfv">pic.twitter.com/Q4VPYsVFfv</a>
&mdash; Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) <a href="https://twitter.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1879194242444341431?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Senate Impeachment Trial Of President Trump Continues

Talking Points, Assemble! Democrat Women Launch Dishonest But Coordinated Attack In Hegseth Hearing

Elizabeth Warren

General

Mazie Hirono

Military

Women

Senator <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/markwayne-mullin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Markwayne Mullin</a> (R-OK) blew up Tuesday morning&#8217;s Armed Services Committee hearing, torching his colleagues — and taking some of the blast himself — for their hypocrisy as they criticized Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth.
Mullin argued that even as they sat in judgment of Hegseth — his qualifications to lead the Pentagon and his admitted struggles — many of them were ignoring their own failings while demanding that Hegseth meet the standards they themselves could not.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
MUST WATCH: Sen. <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkwayneMullin?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MarkwayneMullin</a> just called out the hypocrisy of every single Democrat who have spent the hearing wagging their fingers at Pete Hegseth. <a href="https://t.co/jq8fvaHA42">pic.twitter.com/jq8fvaHA42</a>
&mdash; Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) <a href="https://twitter.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1879224487981486263?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;There&#8217;s a lot about qualifications,&#8221; Mullin said, referencing his colleagues who had raised questions regarding whether or not Hegseth had the necessary experience to run the Pentagon. &#8220;I think it&#8217;s so hypocritical of senators, especially on the other side of the aisle, to be talking about his qualifications to not be able to lead — to be the Secretary of Defense, and yet, your qualifications aren&#8217;t any better.&#8221;
&#8220;You guys aren&#8217;t any more qualified to be a senator than I&#8217;m qualified to be the senator, except we&#8217;re lucky enough to be here,&#8221; Mullin continued, after which he read aloud the qualifications upon which a Defense Secretary was to be judged.
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&#8220;In general, the U.S. Secretary of Defense position is filled by a civilian,&#8221; Mullin said. &#8220;That&#8217;s it. And if you have served in the U.S. Army forces and have been in the service for — you have to be retired for at least seven years and Congress can waive that. And then there&#8217;s questions that the senator from Massachusetts brought up about serving on a board inside the military industry, and yet your own secretary that you all voted for, Secretary Austin, we had to vote on a waiver because he stepped off the board of Raytheon. But I guess that&#8217;s okay because that&#8217;s a Democrat Secretary of Defense. But we so quickly forget about that.&#8221;
Mullin then pivoted to questions raised by Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) regarding Hegseth&#8217;s previous marital woes, adding, &#8220;And then Senator Kaine — I guess I&#8217;d better use &#8216;the Senator from Virginia&#8217; — starts bringing up the fact that &#8216;what if you showed up drunk to your job?'&#8221;
&#8220;How many senators have showed up drunk to vote at night?&#8221; Mullin asked after a brief pause, prompting laughter throughout the chamber.
&#8220;Have any of you guys asked them to step down and resign from their job? And don’t tell me you haven’t seen it because I know you have. And then how many senators do you know have gotten a divorce before cheating on their wives? Did you ask them to step down?&#8221; he asked. &#8220;No, but it’s for show. You guys make sure you make a big show and point out the hypocrisy because a man&#8217;s made a mistake.&#8221;
&#8220;And you want to sit there and say that he&#8217;s not qualified?&#8221; Mullin kept at it. &#8220;Give me a joke. It is so ridiculous that you guys hold yourself as this higher standard and you forget you got a big plank in your eye. We&#8217;ve all made mistakes. I&#8217;ve made mistakes.&#8221;
Mullin turned to Hegseth&#8217;s wife, Jennifer, crediting her with standing by her husband through difficulties.
&#8220;The only reason why I&#8217;m here and not in prison is because my wife loved me, too,&#8221; Mullin said to a few more laughs and a smattering of applause. &#8220;I have changed, but I&#8217;m not perfect — but I found somebody who thought I was perfect. And for whatever reason, you love Pete, and I don&#8217;t know why. But just like our Lord and Savior forgave me, my wife&#8217;s had to forgive me more than once, too, and I&#8217;m sure you&#8217;ve had to forgive him, too. And so, thank you.&#8221;

Sen. Markwayne Mullin

Senator Mullin Blows Up Hegseth Committee Hearing, Tells Senators They’re Not Qualified To Judge

Senator Mullin Blows Up Hegseth Committee Hearing, Tells Senators They're Not Qualified To Judge

Markwayne Mullin

Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth put a quick stop to Senator Elizabeth Warren&#8217;s (D-MA) line of questioning during Tuesday morning&#8217;s Senate Armed Forces Committee hearing, prompting laughter from around the room.
Warren — who spent the majority of her time falsely conflating Hegseth&#8217;s comments criticizing the placement of women in direct combat roles with opposition to women serving in the military in any capacity — attempted to corner the decorated Army veteran with a hypothetical question about what he might do, assuming he is confirmed, after eventually leaving the Defense Department.
WATCH:
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WARREN: &quot;You are quite sure every General who serves should not go directly into the defense industry for 10 years but you&#39;re not willing to make that same pledge?&quot;
HEGSETH: &quot;I&#39;m not a General, Senator.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/lGJQGhUWdS">pic.twitter.com/lGJQGhUWdS</a>
&mdash; Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) <a href="https://twitter.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1879218380164792563?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Noting that Hegseth has previously supported the notion that retired generals should wait ten years before seeking employment in the defense industry, Warren pressed him on whether he would impose a similar waiting period on himself once he left the Defense Department.
&#8220;But the question I have for you on this is will you put your money where your mouth is and agree that when you leave this job you will not work for the defense industry for 10 years?&#8221; Warren asked him.
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&#8220;Senator, it&#8217;s not even a question I&#8217;ve thought about,&#8221; Hegseth replied, but indicated that he would review the applicable law before making any such decision.
&#8220;You can think about it right now,&#8221; Warren suggested.
&#8220;I would consult with the president about what the policy should be,&#8221; Hegseth replied.
&#8220;In other words, you are quite sure that every general who serves should not go directly into the defense industry for 10 years, but you&#8217;re not willing to make that same pledge?&#8221; Warren challenged him a second time.
&#8220;I&#8217;m not a general, Senator,&#8221; Hegseth shot back, prompting laughter around the room.
Warren appeared flustered as she paused, collected herself, and continued: &#8220;You&#8217;ll be the one, let us just be clear, in charge of the generals.&#8221;

‘I’m Not A General’: Pete Hegseth Tomahawks Sen. Warren’s Attempted Smear With Just 4 Words

'I'm Not A General': Pete Hegseth Tomahawks Sen. Warren's Attempted Smear With Just Four Words

Decorated U.S. Army veteran Pete Hegseth completely dismantled legacy media during his Tuesday confirmation hearing, exposing the slanted and anonymously-sourced attacks on his character for exactly what they were.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) opened the hearing by giving Hegseth a chance to address the accusations — which he also noted were anonymously-sourced and quickly amplified by a breathless media.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
🚨 HOLY SH*T!
Pete Hegseth just totally dismantled the left-wing media smears against him in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
&quot;Our left-wing media doesn&#39;t CARE about the truth. All they want to do is destroy ME &#8211; because I am a change agent, a threat to them.&quot;… <a href="https://t.co/JqcgzafC4p">pic.twitter.com/JqcgzafC4p</a>
&mdash; Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) <a href="https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/1879187806293045602?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;From story after story in the media, left-wing media, we saw anonymous source after anonymous source, based on second-or-third-hand accounts,&#8221; Hegseth began. &#8220;And time and time again, stories would come out and people would reach out to me and say, you know, &#8216;I&#8217;ve spoken to this reporter about who you really are and I was willing to go on the record — but they didn&#8217;t print my quote, any of my quotes!'&#8221;
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&#8220;Or &#8216;I&#8217;ve worked with you for ten years,&#8217; or &#8216;I was your accountant,&#8217; or &#8216;I was your Chief Operating Officer,&#8217; or &#8216;I was your board member,&#8217; or &#8216;I was with you on a hundred different tour stops for Concerned Veterans for America. No one called me,'&#8221; Hegseth continued. &#8220;&#8216;No one asked about your conduct on the record or off the record.'&#8221;
&#8220;Instead, a small handful of anonymous sources were allowed to drive a smear campaign, an agenda about me, because our left-wing media in America today, sadly, doesn&#8217;t care about the truth,&#8221; Hegseth took direct aim at legacy media then. &#8220;All they were out to do, Mr. Chairman, was destroy me. And why do they want to destroy me? Because I am a change agent, a threat to them.&#8221;
&#8220;I am willing to endure these attacks,&#8221; Hegseth said. He went on to add that he would continue to stand up against them: &#8220;What I will do is stand up for the truth and for my reputation. False attacks. Anonymous attacks. Repeated ad nauseam, printed ad nauseam as &#8216;facts.'&#8221;
&#8220;I&#8217;m not a perfect person, as has been acknowledged,&#8221; he concluded. &#8220;Saved by the grace of God. By Jesus and Jenny. I&#8217;m not a perfect person, but redemption is real and God forged me in ways that I know I&#8217;m prepared for &#8230; I look forward to leading this Pentagon on behalf of the warfighters.&#8221;

President-Elect Trump’s Cabinet Nominees Meet With Lawmakers On Capitol Hill

WATCH: Pete Hegseth Dismantles Legacy Media In Under 3 Minutes

The University of Michigan, which has worked with Shanghai Jiao Tong University in Communist China since 2005, suddenly announced it was ending the partnership.
Last October 31, Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI), the chairman of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, wrote a letter to University of Michigan President Santa J. Ono, warning him of the risks of a partnership with the Chinese university. His letter came in the wake of five Chinese nationals from the Joint Institute studying at the University of Michigan being charged with <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/02/us/5-chinese-nationals-charged-with-covering-up-midnight-visit-to-michigan-military-site/index.html">deliberately concealing</a> their unauthorized visit to Camp Grayling in northern Michigan. Those nationals came from China to Michigan as students through the joint institute partnership.
“Shanghai Jiao Tong plays a critical role in the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) military-civil fusion strategy,” Moolenaar <a href="https://selectcommitteeontheccp.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/selectcommitteeontheccp.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/2024-10-31%20-%20Letter%20to%20U-M%20re%20Research%20Security%20House%20Select%20Cmte%20CCP.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>. “Through its extensive military-aligned departments and laboratories, advanced dual-use research programs, and large-scale operational training platforms, Shanghai Jiao Tong drives the PRC’s military modernization and intelligence capabilities. For example, the university is currently home to several national-level laboratories, including three defense-related laboratories. This military-academic integration enables Shanghai Jiao Tong to make significant contributions to the PRC’s most sensitive defense programs, including nuclear weapons, carrier rockets, satellites, nuclear submarines, and fighter jets.”
“Research performed at the Joint Institute advances the PRC’s defense and intelligence capabilities,” he added. “For example, Institute researchers have helped the PRC achieve advancements in defense technologies from propellant combustion modeling and solid rocket fuel research to anti-corrosion technology for military aircraft developed with People’s Liberation Army (PLA) researchers. They have worked on projects to improve CT imaging technology for detecting flaws in advanced military equipment, which appears to have leveraged Department of Defense- funded research from University of Michigan faculty.”
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“International academic partnerships have deeply enriched our academic offerings and strengthened the global education of our students, and we will continue to pursue partnerships around the world as part of our academic mission,” Ono <a href="https://record.umich.edu/articles/u-m-to-end-partnership-with-shanghai-jiao-tong-university/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a> regarding the termination of the partnership. “As we do so, we must also prioritize our commitment to national security.”
“International experiences are vital for our students in this interconnected world,” he said. “We remain committed to supporting U-M’s international students and will continue to foster international partnerships that advance knowledge and cross-cultural understanding and ensure our campus remains a vibrant community where scholars from around the world can thrive.”
Georgia Tech <a href="https://www.gatech.edu/news/2024/09/06/georgia-tech-exit-georgia-tech-shenzhen-institute" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a</a><a href="https://www.gatech.edu/news/2024/09/06/georgia-tech-exit-georgia-tech-shenzhen-institute" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nnounced</a> the termination of the Georgia Tech Shenzhen Joint Institute in September. The House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party noted in July 2023 that then-Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) of the committee and Chairwoman Virginia Fox (R-NC) of the Education and the Workforce Committee sent a letter to the President and Chancellor of the University of California Berkeley warning them about Berkeley&#8217;s joint institute with Tsinghua University and the Shenzhen government in China.

Aerial View of University of Michigan Campus and Urban Landscape

University Of Michigan Ends Partnership With Communist Chinese University

China

Communist China

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U.S.

University of Michigan

President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a> announced another $2.5 billion in military aid for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ukraine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ukraine</a> on Monday as he continues ramping up financial support for the country in the final days of his presidency before President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in for his second term. 
The assistance includes a $1.25 billion military aid package from the Defense Department and a $1.22 billion Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. 
&#8220;Since Russia launched its further assault against Ukraine in February 2022, the United States has rallied the world to stand with the Ukrainian people, and it has been a top priority of mine to provide Ukraine with the support it needs to prevail,&#8221; Biden said in a statement.
&#8220;I’ve directed my Administration to continue surging as much assistance to Ukraine as quickly as possible—including drawing down older U.S. equipment for Ukraine, rapidly delivering it to the battlefield, and then revitalizing the U.S. defense industrial base to modernize and replenish our stockpiles with new weapons,&#8221; Biden added.
The military aid includes air defense munitions, artillery ammunition, Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems munitions, ammunition for rocket systems, air-to-ground munitions, missiles, communications equipment, and demolition equipment.
“This support is crucial to stabilizing the front lines—every additional supply from our partners means more saved lives of our soldiers,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky <a href="https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1873454861645197577" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on Sunday, anticipating the aid. “We are also working to ensure that other partners maintain their support at the necessary level.”
Biden <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-administration-announces-another-725-million-in-ukraine-military-aid" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> an additional $725 million in military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine earlier this month and another $275 million last month. Under Biden, the U.S. has committed more than $183 billion to Ukraine. 
The Treasury Department also announced Monday that it would be given Ukraine $3.4 billion in direct budget support for &#8220;maintaining the critical government services.&#8221;
Trump has promised to wind down the war in Ukraine and negotiate a quick peace settlement. Earlier this month, he met with Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, where they spoke about bringing the war to a close. 
“He wants to make peace,” Trump <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/12/08/us-news/trump-says-zelensky-is-ready-for-peace-as-he-dishes-to-post-on-meetings-with-world-leaders-and-jill-biden/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> the New York Post about his conversation with Zelensky. “That’s new.”
“He wants to have a cease-fire,” he added. “He wants to make peace. We didn’t talk about the details. He thinks it’s time, and Putin should think it’s time because he’s lost — when you lose 700,000 people, it’s time.”
Trump has also been critical of Biden&#8217;s recent policy changes, such as allowing Ukraine to launch long-range American-supplied missiles into Russia. He described Biden&#8217;s decision as a &#8220;very stupid thing&#8221; to do.
Trump has maintained that Russia would not have invaded Ukraine had he been president, blaming the Biden administration for the costly war.

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Biden Sends Ukraine Another $2.5 Billion In Military Aid Before Trump Takes Office

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