Tomorrow, the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services will hold a confirmation hearing for Pete Hegseth, President-elect Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Defense.
Below is a statement by Dr. Laura Grego, senior scientist and research director for the Global Security Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
“This week, Pete Hegseth will face questions from Congress as Trump’s nominee for defense secretary. If confirmed, he’d become the civilian authority over the U.S. military, second only to the president. The defense secretary job is as difficult as it is critical. Pete Hegseth, a television presenter and author who formerly served in the National Guard, doesn’t have the qualifications to perform this role. Worse, his values and beliefs make him a downright dangerous candidate.
“The defense secretary has civilian authority over the military second only to the U.S. president, managing the largest federal agency with a budget of $850 billion and almost 900,000 civilian employees and 2.5 million service members. The defense secretary is sixth in the presidential line of succession and one of a handful of officials expected to advise the president on the use of nuclear weapons. The person selected will be expected to perform the job during a challenging time, when existing arms control structures are collapsing, ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East threaten to pull more countries into conflict, and tensions in East Asia are rising. The job needs to be filled by someone with a steady hand who follows evidence-based decision making.
“Hegseth has not served in a senior role in the military, nor served in the government, nor made national security policy or led a large organization, in stark contrast to the last ten confirmed secretaries. The United States deserves and needs a defense secretary with extensive experience and expertise. Pete Hegseth clearly falls short.”
You can find more from Dr. Grego in her latest blog post on Hegseth’s nomination.