Pete Hegseth Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing Breakdown: Warriors Versus Establishment on Military Standards and Dei Purge

every day there's a battle for your mind raging information coming from every angle with the will to deceive fear not you found the place for truth the voice of a generation that still has the will to believe in the greatest country in the history of the world this is the Charlie Kirk show buckle up here we go all right everybody uh right now uh Pete Heth our next secretary of defense is being grilled by Ang King in fact it looks like it just got thrown over to Senator Rick Scott is that correct it looks like Senator Scott I just kind of see it picture in picture great job there guys um let's see what Senator Scott has to say and then we'll throw back here kind of give you an update of this historic hearing let's see what Senator Rick Scott has to say he was instrumental in 2014 and 2017 in ensuring that veterans had Healthcare Choice the second letter submitted by Mr KAS sparo digital media director of CVA from 2015 to 2017 say Pete brought incredible energy focus and a Clear Vision to the organization and showed everything that the team accomplished together and I um similarly um asked uh to submit to the record a letter from Paul J Roberts retired Colonel US Army Special Forces speaking to the unwavering Integrity of Mr hexi uh is there um is there objection without objection those three will be admitted Senator Scott all right first congratulations on your nomination thank you Senator and uh thank you for beinging willing to serve our nation um I I served in the Navy I'm really proud of my dad he was crazy he did off for combat jumps with the as second Airborne he after that survived all that and fought in the Battle of the Bulge and um what they went through it was hell um so I have a lot of respect for him and for everybody that puts on the uniform and serves in battle and has to lead people in battle because it um uh being on a ship that didn't happen to me but uh I had a lot of friends that happened to in my CL Happ to my dad I've served on this committee for six years two years under President Trump and the past four under President Joe Biden I've seen how the Biden Harris Administration pushed the dod to prioritize wokeness over being the most lethal military force in the world it's our Readiness our national security and our ability to recruit people who are willing to put their lives on the line for our country can you talk about some of the changes we can make to improve Recruitment and rebuild our military into the most lethal force in the world first of all Senator thank you for the question thank you for your time um I think the first and most important thing we could have done is elect Donald Trump as the new commander-in-chief because past is prologue uh our war Fighters understand what kind of commander-in-chief they're going to get in president Donald Trump someone who stands behind them someone who gives them clear missions someone who ends Wars decisively and the issue of Ukraine was mentioned uh and ensures new Wars are not started uh there was a minor incursion under Barack Obama into Crimea followed by nothing under President Trump followed by an allout uh assault by Vladimir Putin into Ukraine under the Biden Administration that did not happen under Donald Trump Donald Trump managed the Taliban the bid Administration uh Afghanistan collapsed tragically ending in the lives of 13 at abig gate who we remember remember every single day and no one was held accountable for that Chinese spy balloons were flying over the country none of that happened under Donald Trump and our war Fighters understand that so there's no better recruiter in my mind for our military than president Donald Trump um my job is to come alongside him should I be confirmed and continue to emphasize his emphasis on war fighting on getting anything that doesn't contribute to meritocracy out is just crushing it right now and Pete heg Seth so this is the way it works is this is the Senate armed services committee chaired by Senator Roger wicker who's wearing a foreign flag for whatever reason uh someone can explain that to me that the chairman of the Senate armed services committee has a foreign flag that he's wearing that being Ukraine then he also has a co-chair from Rhode Island I don't remember this guy's name uh it was what was his name again Senator I don't want to misspeak so so basically they they co-chair the committee Jack senator Reed um and so Senator wicker controls the gavel he begins so it goes back and forth with equal time for republicans and Democrats when the Republicans ask questions it's softballs as it should be got to give the guy some time to reather to take a deep breath to be able to get his footing and then the Democrats come all in and forcefully so we are going to be hosting this show live we're going to be going straight to the breaks here on real America's voice I have the thumbs up from Mr Sig that we're just going to go right through but we're going to add some color commentary throughout when Republicans are asking questions and then when Democrats ask questions we're going to go in and let that kind of speak for itself but let's kind of frame this up one of the distinctions of how our government is supposed to be constituted is a civilian Le military The Joint Chiefs of Staff it's its own problem whether or not the joint Chief should even exist or not is a separate issue but having a Frontline fighter to lead the Department of Defense is an extraordinary development most people that have led the Department of Defense from Lloyd Austin to Mark Millie they have not faced fire themselves they have not lost friends on the front lines of battle Pete HTH will bring that Warrior Etho Warrior ethos back into the Department of Defense Pete Heth understands the threat of Dei critical race Theory and the American left he understands that our threat is not just International it is also domestic Pete Heth will Purge the United States military of Dei of the lowering of Standards he will put forward an equilibrium that if women want to serve in the military they must have the same physical fitness standards as men Pete Heth has been morally clear on who our enemies are by the way Pete Heth had a great answer on Hamas on Israel he said that it's time for us to get out of Ukraine and you can see how Pete is under Fire he has been in combat so this is nothing to him and Pete is not connected to the military industrial complex like Mark Millie like Mad Dog Mattis like all of these failures at DOD Pete Heth actually fought in the front lines and it's time that we have a warrior to lead other Warriors someone that is ascended who W with distinction and honor Pete Heth served this nation Mark mil if you get a picture of Mark Milly he has all these medals what did he ever do to get all those medals all this regalia what war did Mark Millie win to get all of that regalia one of the greatest threats to our own country is how the cancer the tumor of wokeism has been enveloping the United States military it makes us less ready to win Wars our military preparedness has been eroded and dled the morale of our military is at all time lows are we have a recruiting crisis right now in the United States military we were once the finest fighting force on the planet and now that is being put in Jeopardy Pete heg will bring it back bring back Warrior culture show 54 right there this is Mark Millie what on Earth did he ever do to get that many medals what war did he win what Conquest did he author What battle did he participate in to get that many medals no simply by existing must take put must take an hour to put all those on contrast that with Pete Heth the man right now who is C on oh we got to listen to this go right now we got to go Elizabeth Warren we got to listen to this go to Elizabeth Warren disqualifies you from serving in this role now I've been trying to get answers from you for quite some time on this you haven't wanted to meet or to answer any of my questions so we'll just have to do it here and dive in I want to pick up on some of the questions ask by Senators Shane and Jill bran and her Rono and I just want to make sure we have a list of some of the facts that I think are Undisputed I'm not going to talk about Anonymous sources I'm just going to quote you directly we've got the video we've got it in print so going back to January 2013 you told a Fox News interviewer that women in the military simply couldn't measure up to men in the military saying that allowing women to serve in combat roles would force the military to lower the bar you picked up on that same theme in 2015 making remarks on Fox News referring to women in combat as quote aode it would a road standards June 2024 you said on Ben Shapiro's podcast quote women shouldn't be in combat at all and then of course we've talked about it in 2024 he published a book and you say on page 26 of your book we need moms but not in the military especially in combat units page 48 of your book you claim that women should not be in combat roles men because men are distracted by women and then 10 weeks ago you appeared on the Sha Ryan Show and said I'm straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles now I presume you recall making all these statements Senator I'm not familiar with the article your point in 2013 but it underscores my argument completely because in that 2013 argument I was talking about standards standards are what it's always about have this same fight always about quoted you directly we've got the video we're happy to show it but I want to be clear here 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 she is such a liar the physical fitness standards are so much lower for women in military we're going to go through it we have the receipts she is lying to the American people we're going to go through the break here in real America's voice stay right [Music] [Applause] [Music] there keep going with Pocahontas after last public comments saying that women absolutely should not be in comat you declared that quote some of our greatest warriors are women and you support having them serve in combat now that is a very very big about face in a very very short period of time so help me understand Mr heg Seth what extraordinary event happened in that 32 day period that made you change the poor values you had expressed for the preceding 12 years Senator again I I very much appreciate you bringing up my comments from 2013 because for me this issue has always been about standards and unfortunately because of some of the people that have been in political power for the last four years priorities other than standard Andy have driven I'm quoting you from the podcast past women shouldn't be in combat at all where is reference to standards that they should be there if they can carry if they can run I don't see that at all Mr heg seith what I see is there's a 32-day period in which you suddenly have another description about your views of women in the military and I just want to know what changed in the 32 days that the song you sang is not the song you come in here today to sing Senator the concerns I have and the concerns of many have had especially in ground combat units is that in pursuit of certain percentages or quotas standards have been changed and that makes the combat more difficult let me make a suggest about what happened in that 32 days you got a nomination from president Trump now I've heard of deathbed conversions but this is the first time I've heard of a nomination conversion and I hope you understand that many women serving in the military right now might think that if you can convert so rapidly your LGH held and aggressively pursued views in just 32 days that 32 days after you get confirmed maybe you'll just reverse those views and go back to the old guy who said straight up women do not belong in in combat now Mr hagath you have written that after they retire generals should be banned from working for the defense industry for 10 years you and I agree on the corrosive effects of the revolving door between the Pentagon and defense contractors it's something I would have liked to talk with you about if you'd come and been willing to visit with me 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 Senator it's not even a question I've thought about because it's not about it right now it's not one my motivation for this job never about come next time is short I just need a yes or no I would consult with the president about what the policy should be words you're quite sure that every General who serves should not go directly into the defense industry for 10 years you're not willing to make that same pledge I'm not a general Senator you'll be the one let us just be clear in charge of the generals so you're saying sauce for the goose but certainly not sauce for the gander I would want to see what the policy of the president bet you thank you Senator Warren um Senator tuberville [Music] thank okay everybody welcome back email Freedom at Charlie kirk.com coach Tommy tuberville senator from Alabama is uh asking questions right now so we can kind of take a step back and frame what's happening right here you have a Frontline fighter that is being grilled by people that have never served before and I have nothing against people not serving obviously I have not served so everyone is allowed to have opinions about these things but at some point we must realize the military is slipping at such a dramatic Pace that we have lost our fighting Edge and the fighters themselves coming back into the military is what's missing not more academics we need less academics in the military and more fighters in the military that know what it's like to send their best friends home in body bags we need less people that spent their lives in air conditioning and attend rubbing CH rubber chicken dinners for a living by the way I'm one of those people I get it I'm not here trying to run the dod I'm not here trying to run the Pentagon Pete Heth has done the tough work serve the country with courage and distinction and Valor now a big debate around Pete heth's nomination is women in combat now we've been very clear on this program that we don't believe that women should be in Frontline combat roles it's not to say that women can't serve in other roles and other capacities and it doesn't diminish the courage or The Valor that many women have showed but this is why it's because of standards and Pete hegseth was saying this in his confirmation but Pocahontas who needed a peace pipe or something by the way she had to calm down out of control was interrupting him too much let's put this up on screen this is 44 cut 44 this is the acft grading scales now when we are trying to go up against the Chinese Communist party when we are trying to go up potentially against Iran God forbid or some other enemy wouldn't it be necessary that every single person that we are sending in the front lines has the same capacity women have different thresholds and that's not okay women are if they're going to be in Frontline combat roles should have the same thresholds as men you should not accommodate whether or not you can carry a fellow service member after they get shot or whether they pass out or they are wounded the enemy doesn't care if you are a male or female mortar shells bullets and the enemy come at you just the same here is the acft grading scales if you look at it put back on screen a female has to run a 1529 mile that's what it looks like I think I'm reading that correctly at the lowest Threshold at the highest threshold a male has to run a 1322 this two miles and 13 minutes and 22 seconds a 20-year-old woman has to only be able to deadlift 210 lbs but a 20-year-old man has to be able to deadlift 340 lb said differently a woman does not even need to be able to pick up or carry a fellow man with gear on at the very base minimum standard so they should have to be as strong in order for a woman to serve in the military if a woman can deadlift 340 lbs welcome it if a woman can do the push-up standards and can do the plank standards which actually the plank standards are equal or the mile standards so why are we lowering the standards of the F finest fighting force ever in the pursuit of diversity and diversity is not our strength Equity is not our strength inclusion is not our strength Unity to kill the enemy is our strength there should be one standard full stop this is not controversial 9 9% of the country agrees and and for this by the way women in Frontline combat roles has that made our military better or not as good what war have we won since we've allowed women in Frontline military roles no seriously what war have we won we got embarrassed in Iraq we got embarrassed in Afghanistan we have lost our Edge and Pete hegs embodies the type of masculinity that we need back into the United States military we're going to keep going through the breaks as tuberville asked Pete heg Seth question stay right [Music] [Music] [Music] there secretary defense has nearly double from 1500 to 3,000 civilians on Joint Chiefs has increased from 191 to almost a th000 our military end strength goes down our staff numbers are exploding what are you going to do about that Senator we're going to address that um we won World War II with seven four-star generals today we have 44 fourstar generals there's an inverse relationship between the size of staffs and victory on the battlefield uh we don't need more bureaucracy at the top we need more war Fighters empowered at the bottom so it'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 thank you Senator tuberville Senator Peters thank you Mr chairman Mr U welcome to this committee thank you you know the we uh have far too much partisanship uh in our country right now think it's eating away at the the f fabric of what has always made this country great about bringing people together from all sorts of backgrounds all sorts of experiences and we know that uh in our motto together uh as one we are strong and so we and this committee and certainly I speak for myself but I think I speak for many of my colleagues want to take partisanship out of this proceeding as much as we can I'm not naive it's out there I get it but we've got to try to to take that out uh and I want you to know that uh as a member of this committee I have voted in a bipartisan way for secretaries of defense I voted for two secretaries of defense When Donald Trump uh was uh previously president uh we had those two we had I think five total secretaries of defense during that four-year period so we want to keep that in mind as to what we might see in this coming uh Administration but I voted and we voted by a big margin for those folks as well but part of that was the process and having an opportunity to get to know the person and understand their qualifications and understand the standards you know I made repeated requests to to meet with you prior to this meeting I know many of my other colleagues also wanted to meet with you I did that with other nominees that I was uh happy to vote for I thought they were highly qualified individuals and and true professionals and yet I could never get a meeting with you was there a reason you were afraid to have one-on-one meetings with some of my colleagues before the hearing uh Senator I know there was a great deal of Outreach to multiple offices schedules get full there's a lot going on I was ready and I welcome the opportunity my schedule to to have an opportunity to sit down was I was ready it would have been so much better to have that opportunity to talk beforehand I think that's a big mistake and it doesn't set us on a good course when you refuse to meet with people and have a professional conversation about the huge challenges that we face at the Department of Defense my colleagues folks who introduced you and others the chairman has mentioned about the management of the dod as a concern cost overruns delays on weapon systems we need strong management at Department of Defense first and foremost we've got to have someone who's going to grab the Reigns and give the taxpayers value for having the most lethal fighting force in the world that defends freedoms but we got to do it in an efficient way I've heard about the the jobs you've had in the past let's just talk about qualifications I know you had two previous positions how many people reported to you in those positions Senator at Vets For Freedom we were a small upstart our Focus was just just the number working on Capitol Hill going back to the battlefield War Fighters just the number please uh we probably had 8 to 10 full-time staff and lots of volunteers so you eight has there been any other we've heard about the two and certainly there's been a lot of talk about the mismanagement etc etc I'm just I'm just curious I won't go into that just curious so you had eight there uh have you what's the largest number of people you've ever supervised or head in an organization in your career not 3 million no I don't expect that no one very few people have ever had that experience but how many it's a straightup question I think we had over a hundred uh full-time staff at concern vets Vets For America roughly with thousands of volunteers so I was also a headquarters company Commander which would have been couple of hundred nothing nothing remotely near the size of the defense department I would acknowledge that actually not remotely even a medium-sized company in America let alone a big company in America especially a major corporation and you're basically we're hiring you to be the CEO of one of the most complex largest organizations in the world we're the board of directors here I don't know of any corporate board of directors that would hire a CEO for a major company if they came and said you know I supervised 100 people before they'd ask you well what kind of experiences you had we need innovation can you give me an experience or your actual experience of driving innovation in an [Music] organization from the campus to the car the bullhorn to the microphone it's the Charlie Kirk show let's resume a Pete hegs Hearing in front of the Senate organization in the world I don't think there's a board of directors in America that would hire you as a CEO with a kind of experience you have on your resume you talk about standards you talk about raising or low that we have a problem of standards in the dod and we have to raise standards for the men and women who serve do you think that the way to raise the minimum standards of the people who serve us is to lower the standards for the Secretary of Defense that we have someone who has never managed an organization more than a hundred people is going to come in and manage this incredibly important organization and do it with a professionalism and has no experience that they can tell us that they have actually done that I have real problems with that this is not about other issues that are brought up they're all very important I'm just about trying to get things done managing efficiently and having the best people who have demonstrated that in a large organization and I'm sorry but I don't see that in your background there are a lot of other things you can do very well you're a capable person but I'm not I do not you have not convinced me that you're able to take on this tremendous responsibility with a complex organization and having little or no significant management experience Senator I'm grateful to be hired by one of the most successful CEOs in American history should I be confirmed um Mr hegi that it it seems to me that you've supervised far more people than the average United States Senator supervises to [Applause] and um except for except for former governors Mr chairman Senator Mullen I understand you are yielding back your time and do not wish to ask question I was I was misinformed am Senator Mullen caught me totally off guard there uh I'd like to uh submit for the record uh signatures by 32 members of the House Representatives who are veterans the signatures call on the Senate to honor the Constitutional duty of advis and consent by conducting a fair thorough confirmation process that evaluates his nomination solely on the substance and merits his distinguished military service academic credentials and a bold vision for revitalizing the national offense I ask unanimous consent to enter into the record without objection um you know there's a lot of talk going about talking about qualifications and then about us hiring him if we are the board but there's a lot of senators here I wouldn't have on my board uh because there is no qualifications except your age and you got to be living in the state and you're a citizen of the United States to be a senator other than the fact we got to convince a lot of people to vote for us and then when we start talking about qualifications um for if you're qualified for could the chairman tell me what the qualifications are for the secretary defense Mr chairman could you tell me what the qualifications are for the Secretary of Defense I I'd be happy uh for I'll read it for you to to do that let me let me read it for you because I I go I was getting some advice from second in command yeah but I'm just I'm just making a point because there's a lot about qualifications and I think it's so hypocritical of senators especially on the other side of the H be talking about his qualifications not going to lead the secretary or be the secretary defense and yet your qualifications aren't any better you guys aren't any more qualified to be the senator than I'm qualified to be the senator except we're lucky enough to be here but let me read you what the qualifications of the secretary of defense is because I Googled it and I Googled it and went through a lot of different sites and really it's hard to see but in general the US Secretary of Defense position is filled by a civilian that's it if you have served in the US army forces and have been in the service for uh you have to be retired for at least seven years and Congress can can weigh that and then there's question that my that the that the senator from uh from Massachusetts brought up about serving on a uh on a board uh inside the military industry and yet your own secretary that you all voted for Secretary of Austin we had to vote on a waiver because he stepped off the board of rathon but I guess that's okay because that's a Democrat Secretary of Defense but but you so quickly forget about that and then Senator Kane or I guess I better use the senator from Virginia starts bringing up the fact that what if you showed up drunk to your job how many senators have showed up drunk to vote at night 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 got a divorce before cheating on their wives did you ask them to step down no but it's for show you guys make sure you make a Big Show and point out the hypocrisy because a man's made a mistake and you want to sit there and say that he's not qualified give me a joke it is so ridiculous that you guys hold yourself at this higher standard and you forget you got a big plank in your eye we've all made mistakes I've made mistakes and Jennifer thank you for loving him through that mistake because the only reason why I'm here and not in prison is because my wife loved me too I have changed but I'm not perfect but I found somebody that thought I was perfect and for whatever reason you love Pete and I don't know why but just like our Lord and savior forgave me my wife's had to forgive me more than once too and I'm sure you've had to forgive him too and so thank you so before I go down this Rabbit Hole again tell me something about your wife that you love um she's the smartest most capable loving humble honest person I have ever met in in addition to being incredibly beautiful don't forget about your kids I'm supposed to talk about my kids no no well she's also the mother oh an amazing mother of our blended family of seven brother I'm pulling you as long I'm trying to help you here you know um do you believe that you're going to be running the secretary or the Department of Defense by yourself Senator absolutely not um just as president Trump is assembling his cabinet I look forward and already am in the process of building one of the best possible teams you can imagine with decades and Decades of experience outside of the Pentagon driving innovation uh and excellence and also inside the building knowing how to make it happen yes sir so um in your organizations that you did have the privilege of running did you have a board that you in both organizations we had a board yes okay and and what what did you do with that board what kind of decisions did you make with him um those boards provided oversight and insight into decision making they all have special unique sets that maybe filled gaps that you're not the expertise in yes sir so do do you believe you're capable of surrounding yourself with capable individuals that you're going to be able to run those same ideas by and surround yourself with people that are smarter and better equipped and maybe areas that you don't you don't necessarily care expertise with Senator the only reason I've had success in life to include my wonderful wife is because of people more capable around me and having the self-confidence to empower them and say hey run with the ball run with the football take it down the field we'll we'll do this together I don't care who gets the credit and in this case uh that's how the Pentagon will be run let me let end with this Mr chairman about the qualifications you got a man who has literally put his butt on the line he served 20 years in the service multiple deployments has heard the bullets crack over the top of his head has been willing to go into combat been willing to see friends die for this country and he's willing to still put himself through this his wife is willing to still stand beside him knowing he wasn't perfect knowing that all this was going to be brought up he's still willing to serve the country what other qualifications does he need that you back thank you Senator mull Senator Duckworth and and again we we really are going to strictly enforce the the rule about uh no no demonstrations or noise the uh distinguished ranking member just a point of uh personal privilege to make a correction the reason that General auson required a waiver was not because of his participation in a corporate Enterprise it was because he did not have seven years of uh Interruption between his service and his appointment second point is that if any of us were appointed as Secretary of Defense we would be subject to the same types of questions the case in point is Senator John to was nominated for secretary defense uh it was discovered uh by his colleagues that his behavior was not commenor with the responsibilities despite his service and he was voted down thank you thank you Mr chairman um Senator Duckworth you are recognized thank you Mr chairman and also secretary Mattis had to have this waiver as well um Mr hex said this hearing is about whether you qualifi to be Secretary of Defense and one of the qualifications to answer my colleague's question is to actually win the votes of every member of this committee and to be confirmed by the United States Senate and you need to convince us that you're worthy of that vote because the people of the state of Illinois voted for me to be their Senator so that I could cast that vote when it comes to picking who is going to be the next secretary of defense this hearing now seems to be a hearing about whether or not women are qualified to serve in combat and not about whether or not you are qualified to be Secretary of Defense and let me just say that the American people need a sect DEA who's ready to lead on day one you are not that person our adversaries watch closely during times of transition and any sense that the Department of Defense that keeps us safe is being steered by someone who's wholly unprepared for the job puts America at risk and I am not willing to do that with that in mind Mr hex I want you to try to explain to the American people this committee who have to vote for you and to our troops are deployed around the world why you are qualified to lead the Department of Defense we already know that you've only LED large as a 200 person organization we already know that you so badly mangled a budget that after you left they had to bring in a forensic accountant okay to figure out what went wrong and that the largest budget you ever hey Senator Duckworth a lot of people bring in forensic accountants okay it's actually called an audit do one every year what guidance that you give the Auditors none because you've never LED an audit nobody expects you to be an accountant Mr hexat what we expect is for you to understand the complexity of this Pentagon budget process that is absolutely necessary to outfit our war Fighters look the secretary of defense is required to make quick decisions every single day that well with high level information that's being provided for them a secretary defense has to have bread and depth of knowledge right now I am concerned that you have neither Mr hexa what is the highest level of international negotiations that you have engaged in that you've LED in because the secretary defense does lead International Security negotiations there are three main ones that the Secretary of Defense leads and signs can you name at least one of them could you uh repeat the question Senator sure what is the highest level of International Security agreement that you have led and can you name some that the Secretary of Defense would lead there's three main ones I have not been involved in International Security Arrangements because I have not been in government other than serving in the military so my job has been to name one of the three main ones that the talk about defense Arrangements I mean NATO might be one of one that you're referring to status of forces agreement would be one of them stat for status of forces agreement I've been a part of teaching about status of forces agreement but you don't remember to mention it you're not qualified Mr hex you're not qualified you talk about repairing our defense industri complex you're not qualified to that you could do acquisition and cross servicing agreements which essentially are security agreements you can't even mention that you've done none of those you talked about the Indo Pacific a little bit and I'm glad did you mention it up mention it can you name the importance of at least one of the nations in the Assan uh in assen and what type of agreement we have with at least one of those Nations and how many nations are in assen by the way I couldn't tell you the exact amount of nations in that but I know we have allies in South Korea and Japan and in AR with Australia trying to work on submarines with them of those countries allies none of those three countries that you've mentioned are in Assan I suggest you do a little homework before you prepare for these types of uh uh negotiations listen Mr hexa this is we ask our troops to go into Harm's Way all the time we ask them to go into Harm's Way and this behind me it's a copy of the solders Creed a copy that usually hangs over my desk here in the Senate and you should be familiar with it it's the same copy that hung over my desk at Walter Reed every single day that I woke up and fought my way back because I wanted to go back and serve next to my buddies who saved my life these same the same copy these words I repeated over and over and over again and let me read out two things to you two sentences I will always place the mission first and I am disciplined physically and mentally tough trained and proficient and my warrior task Mr hex our troops follow these words every single day and they man up and they pack their Rock sacks and they go to war and they deserve a leader who can lead them not a leader [Music] who okay uh welcome back everybody email us freedom Charly kirk.com more with the hearing here I have so many thoughts here but this is just uh too good to miss Senator Duckworth is one of the dumbest US senators known here for quite a while let's let's resume he has filed for bankruptcy six times I'm not quite sure he's the kind of CEO you want to refer to as a successful businessman let me make it clear you can't seem to grasp that there is no US military as we know it without the incredible women that we serve women who've earned their place in their units you have not earned your place as Secretary of Defense you say you care about keeping our armed forces strong and that you like that our Armed Forces meritocracy then let's not lower the standards for you you sir are in nogo at this station thank you um Senator Duckworth I would like to submit for the record u a letter submitted by Mr Brian Marriot that says anyone who would claim that Pete mismanaged funds at vets of freedom is ignorant of the facts without objection it will be admitted to the record Senator Bud thank you chairman wicker and congrats on your chairmanship of this committee I want to thank you for your leadership and your handling of this today I think you're doing a great job so I want to also submit uh for the record a letter submitted by Mr Daniel Catlin the former operations manager Vets For Freedom Mr catlin's letter states that Mr heg Seth and Mr Catelyn conducted weekly meetings to meticulously review every dollar that the organiz ation spent Pete's Hands-On approach and dedication to financial responsibility ensured that Vets For Freedom operated within its budget Mr catlin's letters also states that Pete treated his staff with the utmost respect regardless of race or gender so I ask unanimous consent to enter this into the record Mr chairman without objection so order thank you Mr hegf congratulations on your nomination thanks for appearing before the committee today uh I enjoy meeting we in my office before Christmas and I've enjoyed our friendship before that you know you stated in your Advanced policy questions that the American people need to be informed engaged and inspired to join our military I wholeheartedly agree with that and we also have a problem though with obesity and falling actic standards it's very concerning we've talked about that before so if confirmed how would you approach increasing the number of Americans eligible to serve in the military but without lowering standards well Senator I think there are already to the credit of I believe the Army and and other services have now caught up to that which have piloted programs that have had some success that have allowed Young Americans who want to serve in the military but can't necessarily pass the asab or pass the APFT to get into basic training an opportunity to get caught up a preparatory class um unfortunately yes we do have a problem of obesity in our country not necessarily something that the if I'm confirmed secretary of defense is able to address but I do think leading from the front matters I do think having a secretary of defense that will go out and do pt with the troops matters uh that has been out there and done that before and hopefully that's a motivating factor for young people but it the reality of obesity and criminal backgrounds and medical problems have long been an issue of recruitment in America unfortunately what changed is the perception of military service because of the condition of the services and frankly because of in some ways the way our schools don't teach young people to love the country anymore and if you don't love the country why do you want to serve that country that's a deeper problem uh but all of those things need to be addressed to revive recruiting uh and obesity is certainly a part of it thank you for that so I've had multiple conversations Young Folks back in North Carolina young men young women and we get to meet a lot of them but you know I hear from some of these folks uh who I encourage to join the military they say that they're concerned that it's become politicized and if confirmed would you commit to working with my office to address the military recruiting crisis and ensuring the military is focused on war fighting Senator absolutely a number one from day one with a mandate from the commanderin-chief um who received that mandate when Americans spoke out loudly and said we want peace through strength we want America First foreign policy and we don't want political ideology driving decisions inside our defense department that was clear it's an it's an infection that the American people are acutely aware of which the men and women in this room have lived firsthand I've lived it firsthand uh and that's why it will be a priority and I I truly believe and I'm humbled by this the response we've already seen from young men and women whove decided to join the military when they had said I wasn't going to but seeing a commander-in-chief Donald Trump reassured them seeing the possibility if confirmed of a secretary of defense that would have their back reassured them and so in the first couple of months more with Pete Heth uh we're going to go through the breaks here and second hour coming up [Music] generation Fighters while we continue to research and develop sixth generation in collaborative combat aircraft Senator that's a very important conversation uh one that I've been looking at a great deal a lot of it just to be clear involves classifications and understanding precisely cost and capabilities including capabilities of enemy uh systems both not just fourth and fifth but potential sixth generation which we've already seen a prototype released from the Chinese that's a a danger development considering at least the publicly understood condition of Eng Gad which I look forward to the opportunity looking underneath the hood on that but ensuring fourth and fifth are capable uh and and upgraded as necessary will be a part of our contingency but when you look at what's happening in the Indo Pacific say operability range is going to matter because it's such a large battle space that would all will all factor in decisions that are made and that's where I I feel frankly a little bit liberated is that I didn't work at locked or any number of pick a defense contractor I didn't mean to point one out in particular pick any I haven't I don't have a special interest in any particular system or any particular company or any particular narrative I want to know what works I want to know what defeats our enemies what keeps us safe what deters them what keeps our enemies up at night whatever that is I want more of it and I want to invest in it and I know that's the view that President Trump has as well thank you you know some have commented recently about the need to eliminate immediately a man manned aircraft so I'd say maybe one day but that day is not now and certainly not before 2027 especially in the indopacific so if confirmed will you commit to work with my office in this committee to ensure the proper mix of Fighters Mann and unmanned I look forward to working with you on that Senator because unmanned will be a very important part of the way uh future Wars are fought um just just the idea of survivability for a human being drives cost and time in ways that unmaned systems do not but I I look forward to that conversation Senor you thank you Senator bud I now recognize Senator Reed for a unanimous consent request mrman I would ask you consent that two letters be submitted for the record the one letter is signed by numerous organizations including the government accountability project the other signed by several organizations including the Truman National Security Project without objection so ordered now Senator Kelly uh um cator Rosen got here after the gavel went down do you really want to go ahead of her I am going to defer to my good friend and colleague Senator Rosen great state of Nevada really good decision Senator Rosen you are recognized and thank you Senator Kelly I owe you one thank you chairman wicker ranking member Reed for holding this hearing um and Mr Heth I appreciate your service and your willingness to serve again however I I am deeply disappointed that you would not agree to meet with me as other members have said on this committee prior to this hearing as is the presedent for this committee and others so let me tell you a little bit about what I would have talked about had you made yourself available prior to the hearing Nevada is home to the premier Aviation training ranges for both the Air Force and the Navy the largest Ammunition Depot in the world and the only place in the country where we are able to verify the reliability of our nuclear stockpile without the need for explosive testing the Nevada National Guard is one of the few only few units across the country with the mission of fighting wildfires it's for another hearing and currently activated to fight the devastating fires around Los Angeles in support of our neighbors we therefore play a critical role in our national security and the person who holds the position of Secretary of Defense matters greatly to Nevada service members and our military equities but every single person who serves in the military we've talked about my colleagues esteemed colleagues have' talked about Recruitment and Retention one day they will become a veteran so my veterans and the folks who are do serving active duty now are concerned about what you think DOD does not have jurisdiction over Nevada's 200,000 plus veterans but I am interested in your views about the service members once they've transitioned out of the military given the influence you would have while they're in service if confirmed in 2019 on a segment of fox and friends you said that veteran service organizations vsos I'm going to quote encourage veterans to apply for every government benefit they can ever get after they leave the service you stated you don't want to quote be dependent on government assistance from the VA based on injuries or illnesses that might have Arisen from your military service so I'm just going to ask you a few yes or no questions about veterans understanding you don't have jurisdiction but this is important to our moral is important to our recruitment and is important to our retention and is important to how we respect others in this country so yes or no please do you believe that vsos are wrong to support veterans in obtaining the benefits that they have rightfully earned and deserved when they sign that line like you did for your service Senator veterans deserve the benefits they've earned I have been in many battles with Trad veteran service organizations over differences of opinion about how to deliver those services you are wrong which is AOS is a very broad term we were a vso also ma'am but some of those Services should they be able to help the the veterans obtain the benefits that they have earned yes or no should anyone be able to help every veteran should have rapid access to All Veterans should be ashamed for having sought and obtained the benefits that they have earn do you think veterans should be ashamed to seek out benefits Senator I think you should be ashamed as a nation of the amount of veterans that commit suicide because they hit a brick wall theyit they commit suicide because they a brick wall of the bucers are not courage enough how about veterans who suffer lasting injuries or illnesses due to their military service do you do you think they deserve our support and assistance I mean your your qu your answers to these they're too broad people want to know are you willing to support our veterans organizations that will help our veterans get every damn thing that they deser serve because they signed on the dotted line to keep us safe just like you did I respect that will you Senator with all due humility I don't know that there's anyone in this room over the last 20 years that have worked harder to ensure that our veterans are taken care of it has been a passion of my life alongside with so many on this day to make sure that veterans receive and it is a recruiting crisis when veterans are dependent on the government you said veterans are dependent on the government do you believe that veterans get these benefits are dependent on the government or do you believe it's a benefit they've earned and deserve through their service it's a benefit they've earned and a hand up to these are your words then so you have again changed your position where you believe the veterans are dependent now you believe they've earned and deserved it um I just think it's disrespectful to change that position these are these are benefits that people may need throughout their life and may not know when they need them or how they're going to need them and they need to be there when they do thank you I'm move on to my next question um America's role in the world uh our alliances the threats America's facing they're serious they're wide ranging from China to Russia tranan back terrorism so do you agree with the national defense strategy that the US cannot compete with China Russia and their Partners alone and certainly cannot win a war that way and this is a quote from the national defense strategy is your interpretation that American first foreign policy is America alone does that include abandoning our allies and partners such as NATO Taiwan Israel and others and if we can't win alone and we don't strengthen our strategic Partnerships I would say that position your position places on a strategic path to lose to our adversaries so maybe you're okay with choosing that path for America I I want to know how you square that position with the positions you articulated in your book where you wrote that NATO is at Relic at best a distraction and should be scrapped and remade are you okay with sending us down a path or we can't win Senator the world has had our friends in the world have had no better Ally our allies have had no better friend than president Donald Trump who's reinvigorated a NATO alliance stood behind Israel in every way in ways this Administration has not he has ensured that the NATO alliance has become far more robust he worked the Pacific as well is Donald Trump going to stand behind ukra [Music] [Music] all right Jackie Rosen is making a fool of herself here uh senator from Nevada who should not be a US senator as she exchanges some spicy words with Pete heg Seth our next secretary of defense let's listen in gu best guidance to the president United States on matters like that do you think that if we concede to Vladimir Putin that that will hurt our credibility with uh our allies and partners and do you not believe that our adversaries are watching perhaps you can take that for the record Mr heith um Senator Schmidt uh thank you Mr chairman I'd like to submit for the record a letter submitted by Mr Christopher an the former director of operations for Vets For Freedom Mr an uh his letter states that the suggestion quote the suggestion that funds were misused for personal gain lavish parties or other improper purposes is categorically false throughout my time working with Pete he Heth he consistently demonstrated exceptional Integrity in leadership I asked unanimous consent to enter this letter into the record without objection so ordered Senator Schmidt thank you Mr chairman Mr hexa good to see you here today thank you for your service thank you and your willingness to serve uh I also want to thank you for your Clarity in articulating the vision you have for the Department of Defense in restoring an ethos um a warrior ethos uh which is in stark contrast to the ethos we've seen the last four years which is of weakness and wokeness and I want to drill down on a few things specifically and exactly how we've gotten to where we've gotten with recruiting and morale Dei there's been a little bit of discussion about this but for those watching at home Dei is not about giving everybody opportunity it is rooted in cultural Marxism the idea that you pit the room any room with oppressor versus oppressed it's race essentialism and it is poison it has no business whatsoever in our military I think the American people have spoken loudly and clearly about this they're tired of this they're tired of woke ideology and to my Democrat colleagues on the other side if you haven't picked up on that you miss the plot because that's what November 5th partially was about and so let's talk specifically about some of these Dei programs that have been funded in our Academy specifically the Air Force Academy it was advised as disfavored language to refer to your mom and dad as Mom and Dad okay dear Mom and Dad I'm writing home don't say that that's insane um we're all just people you can't say that either and in an effort to police this in a 1984 orwellian novel there was actually an eyes and ear program to rat on your fellow students who might say Mom and Dad or just say in a tough situation you know what we're all just people can't say that this wasn't limited by the way to ourmes um the secretary of the Air Force our current Secretary of the Air Force in a memo from August of 2022 thought we had too many white officers advocated for quotas and if you crunch the numbers that meant that 5,800 white officers who've worked really hard should be fired in the United States of America I don't know how we got here and by the way the Air Force isn't alone here the Navy sort of touted a drag queen influencer um this stuff is insane and people wonder why recruiting is dropped off and let me just go through a few numbers then I want to get your comments on how we fix this because it's gone completely off the rails in 2022 the Army missed a recruiting goal of 60,000 Soldiers by over 15,000 in 2023 the Navy missed their recruiting goals by over 7,000 in 2022 the Air Force couldn't only couldn't meet their standards their numbers even though they lowered their standards they've lowered their standards to meet numbers they still can't get to Mr hex we got to fix this I think what you've demonstrated today is that you have the talent and the ability and the desire to fix it how are you going to fix it well Senator thank you for the question um first and foremost upfront you have to tear out Dei and CRT initiatives root and Branch out of Institutions 100% And then you have to put in Army Navy and Air Force secretaries and others civilian positions at the helm who are committed to the same priorities that the president of the United States is and if confirmed the secretary of defense will be send a clear message that this is not a time for Equity Equity is a very different word than equality equality is the Bedrock of our military men and women Duty positions in uniform black white doesn't matter we treat you equally based on who you are in the image of God as an individual and we all get the same bad haircuts you're not an individual you're part of a group grp Equity prescribes some sort of an outcome based on differing attributes that we have that divide us what skin color are you what what gender are you and then Infuse that into institutions which manifest in things like quotas formal or informal which does what to morale sends it in the tubes and it makes people feel like they're being judged by something other than how good they are at their job which is poisonous inside institutions so on top of this recruiting crisis um that wasn't enough for this Administration during the covid hysteria and in their attempt to fire 100,000 people who worked for bigger companies because they didn't get the covid shot or to mask five-year-olds they decided also to make this a central plank in their policy at the Pentagon 8,000 well Tred so we got a recruiting crisis 8,000 well-trained men and women were fired were fired will you commit today Mr hex hex to recruit these folks back to give them back pay and give them an apology from the United States government for how they were disrespected Senator I will commit to this because the commander-in-chief has committed to this that not only will they be reinstated They will receive an apology back pay and rank that they lost because they were forced out due to an experimental vaccine thank you and I I'm a limited time but I just want to say for all the talk of experience and not coming from the same cocktail parties that permanent Washington is used to you were a breath of fresh air and again if you weren't paying attention to what this election was all about it was about the disruptors versus The Establishment and the American people have had enough of business as usual for the same people that we line up for these same jobs who give us the same results we need some who's going to go in there and fight for Innovation fight for change I think you're that person and I appreciate your willingness to sit here and listen to some of these undignified attacks it's ridiculous thank you Captain Mark Kelly you're recognized thank you Mr chairman uh congratulations on your chairmanship um I want to make a request to the committee that we have a second round of questions pursuant to the bipartisan staff agreement that we reached uh late last year um this will be one round uh of seven minute questions thank you thank you Mr chairman I'll be happy to recognize my colleague Mr Reed uh I think it's important to note for the record that when uh secretary Hegel was here we had three rounds of questioning when secretary Carter was here we had two rounds of questioning and um I cannot recall any time where I have denied as a chairman a member to ask for a second round and receive the second round so we are I think violating the the principles of the committee and I just want to go Rec and and um your your comment is noted thank you Mr hegf thank you for being here today thank you for your service to this country thank you Senator few nominees come into this room with all the necessary experience to do this job to be Secretary of Defense get that it's a reflection on just how big of a job this is what I want to understand is whether or not you bring any of the necessary experience that this job requires and here's where I'm concerned you were noticeably intoxicated and had to be carried up to your room is that true or false Anonymous smears another time a CVA staffer stated that you passed out in the back of a party bus is that true or false Anonymous smears in 2014 while in Louisiana on official business for CVA did you take your staff including young female staff members to a strip club absolutely not Anonymous smears so is it accurate that the organization reached a financial settlement with a female staffer who claimed to be at a strip club with you and there was a colleague who attempted to sexually assault her was there a financial set settlement Senator I was not involved in that I don't know the nature of how that played out but you understand there was a financial set settlement for a young female staffer who accused another member of the organization not you of sexual assault in a strip club we have multiple statements on the record referring to that um but you claim you were not there when that occurred absolutely not now the behavior I cited if true do you think that this behavior of intoxication going into these type of establishments women on your staff being so uncomfortable that they have to file these sort of harassment claims do you think this is appropriate behavior for a leader Senator well Senator the overwhelming majority of anyone who's worked for me including the on the record statements that have been submitted to this with their name on it on the record men and women who worked with me every day are the overwhelming preponderance of evidence that testify to my leadership and professionalism in leading Vets For Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America my leadership has been completely imped on these veterans organizations that did fantastic work fighting overse I'm not go man our financial books with Integrity across the board how many people everybody who runs campaign I I have limited time I'm not going to get into the accusations that come from Fox News know you have some of your Fox News colleagues here there are multiple instances of accusations against you about drinking on the job all Anonymous all false all refuted by my colleagues who I worked with for 10 years at 6:00 a.m. to 900 p.m. and everything the challenge here for me Mr only seen me being professional is when there is discussion about personal challenges and you admittedly had issues with heavy drinking it's hard to kind of square this to square the circle here it's it's it's it's kind of a difficult thing to do let me ask you if um I have about a 90 seconds left here if if you had to answer these questions about sexual assault against you and your drinking and your personal conduct would it have been different if this if you were under oath Senator all I'm pointing out is the false claims against me okay take it you do not want to answer that question I walk walked into into this hearing this morning concern that you haven't demonstrated adequate leadership in your civilian roles and this is a dangerous World we're living in here and America cannot afford a secretary of defense who is unprepared for that mission I'm going to leave with concerns about your transparency you say you've had personal issues in your past yet when asked about those very issues you blame an anonymous smear campaign even when many of these claims are not Anonymous which is [Music] it okay everybody uh senator Mark Kelly is wrapping up with Pete Heth I want to actually hear from someone who's been in the room to uh fight for Pete Heth it is Cash Larson who is running seals for Pete Heth uh cash welcome to the program cash tell us what you are seeing up close and personal in the room here and how your friend Pete Heth is doing yeah absolutely and Charlie it's an honor to be on I actually just stepped out of the the hearing room to speak with you and your audience right now uh as you've seen it's it's fied back and forth between uh being contous with some of the senators and other Senators uh appreciating the support for uh for uh Pete's nomination um I think the most important thing to take away from actually inside the hearing room is that there are about 50 Special Operations veterans inside the room there to support Pete couple MMA pro professional MMA fighters that's probably the most lethal room in America right now and what that means Beyond being a badass room is that in the Special Operations Community when we go through selection process we use peer review as a really critical essential tool to select the best of the best essentially you see Pete Heth being peer-reviewed by the actual War fighters in the room right now and people who have served with Pete uh people who have uh gone through arduous experiences with Pete are there to support him and I think that's being reflected in the testimony so uh let's let's talk about the military standards and how they have been relaxed how they're different for males and females and this has been a big issue made in this uh Committee hearing what is the truth regarding this yeah absolutely I think that it's been a sticking point in several of the q&as back and forth with the different Senators uh I think the important thing to emphasize is that Pete wants to return military culture to a culture that's front sight focused on war fighting and in order to do that he believes that we have to maintain extraordinarily high standards there's been a lot of discussion about this uh but sitting in the back of the room um my opinion there's actually not that much white space there's unanimous consent agreement that there should be really high standards for our war Fighters and they should be vigorously enforced and uh both centers on both side of the aisle and the perspective nominee Pete pth seem to to be in congruent about that um where it seems to be breaking down there's uh a sort of series of kind of like ad homin or or sort of personal attacks but that neglects the bigger issues that everybody uh both on the dis up there and then Pete sitting in the hot seat everybody there actually cares about National Security really deeply you know from the back of the room I wish they'd spend a lot more time focusing on the on the big stuff that everybody's concerned about rather than the small stuff in closing here kaj because I know you got to get back in uh what do you think Pete heg will do for military recruitment and morale yeah I think the truth is Pete's already done it um look we're uh as the hearing started off uh you saw the