USA Trump's Pentagon nominee secures key support
Donald Trump's controversial preferred candidate for the head of the US Department of Defense, Pete Hegseth, has secured important support for the necessary confirmation as Secretary after a hearing in the Senate.
15.01.2025, 02:39
SDA
Following the hearing, Senator Joni Ernst, who was considered a critic of the Republicans, announced that she would support the nomination, as reported by several US journalists. Due to the narrow majority in the Senate, even a small number of dissenters in the vote in the House could deprive former TV presenter Hegseth of the hoped-for office.
In the meeting of the Defense Committee, the Republican Ernst made public promises to the candidate, but conspicuously held back with sharp questions. The Democrats confronted him with his private past and with questions about his lack of qualifications for the high-profile job.
Although Hegseth came under increasing pressure after his nomination, Trump always stuck by him. Following the meeting, the president-elect's team circulated a collection of quotes from Republican senators praising Hegseth.
No political experience
The former Fox News presenter has no political experience apart from an unsuccessful bid for a seat in the US Senate for Minnesota, but is set to head the Pentagon, one of the most important ministries in the USA. As Secretary of Defense, the former soldier would be responsible for the most powerful military in the world, 3.5 million military and civilian employees, a budget of around 800 billion dollars as well as armaments projects and security policy decisions of major importance.
Support from the Republicans, rejection from the Democrats
Hegseth presented himself as an innovator in the Senate. He described accusations against him as a smear campaign aimed at torpedoing his career. Hegseth himself admitted that he was not a perfect person.
Republican committee chairman Roger Wicker agreed with him. "He will breathe a new warrior ethos into the Pentagon, a spirit that can permeate from the top down."
Democrat Jack Reed said a Secretary of Defense needs unparalleled experience, wisdom and character. He must be trustworthy and bipartisan. He called reports of alleged racist and sexist remarks by Hegseth, alcohol abuse and sexual assault "extremely alarming". His conclusion: "Mr. Hegseth, I do not believe that you are qualified to meet the requirements of this task."
Even a few dissenters would be a problem
Since the announcement of his nomination a few days after Trump's election victory, a number of accusations against Hegseth have come to light. The 44-year-old firmly rejected the accusations and subsequently held intensive talks with senators in order to secure the necessary support for his confirmation.
Due to her initially critical stance on Hegseth, Joni Ernst was particularly in the spotlight. During the hearing, she now said that she and Hegseth had had "very open discussions". In response to her questions, he promised, among other things, that under him there would be a high-ranking person in the Pentagon responsible for the prevention of sexual assaults and the response to possible offenses of this kind. There would also be no change to the rights and opportunities of women in the military or to the standards they have to meet for combat missions.
Non-answer and knowledge gap
Hegseth avoided sensitive questions. Democrat Mazie Hirono asked him whether he would follow an order from Trump to use military force to conquer Greenland or take control of the Panama Canal. Hegseth started talking about the millions of votes Trump had received in the election. When Hirono insisted, Hegseth said he would never respond in a public forum like this, one way or the other.
Democrat Tammy Duckworth exposed Hegseth's lack of knowledge when she asked him about the Southeast Asian Association of Nations (Asean). Hegseth could not name the number of member countries - and then spoke of the allies in South Korea and Japan, neither of which belong to Asean.
Further hearings
The fact that Trump has so far stuck with Hegseth despite all his reservations and criticism could also have something to do with the fact that he has already lost another preferred candidate for his cabinet: Matt Gaetz, whom he wanted to install as Attorney General, withdrew after controversies surrounding his behavior and due to a lack of support.
Alternative candidate Pam Bondi, who is considered a confidante of Trump, is due to be questioned in the Senate today. Alongside her, six other candidates will be questioned, including Marco Rubio, who is to become Secretary of State, and John Ratcliffe, who Trump wants to entrust with the CIA foreign intelligence service.
