WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Elizabeth Warren is pressing Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, to answer additional questions about his past actions and statements before next Tuesday’s confirmation hearing.
In a letter to Hegseth sent Monday, the Massachusetts Democrat asked the former Fox News host and Army veteran to respond no later than Friday to questions on allegations of past drinking, sexual assault and mismanagement of veterans organization finances — all of which he denies. She also wants to know about statements he’s made concerning minorities, women and LGBTQ people serving in the military.
Hegseth has the support of some veterans groups that believe the military has overemphasized diversity at the cost of troop readiness. A group of former Navy SEALs is planning a rally in support of Hegseth in Washington next week.
“One of the biggest flaws in current leadership in the military and in the Pentagon is when you become more focused on things that don’t matter,” said Bill Brown, a former SEAL who is organizing Tuesday’s rally. “The military is not a social justice project.”
Hegseth’s supporters have stressed that many of the questions about his past behavior arose from reports based on anonymous sources. But some relate to things he’s said in interviews or written in his books.
In “War on Warriors,” Hegseth wrote that Gen. CQ Brown’s promotion to chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff meant that “with the Pentagon now run by, and fully staffed by, so-called ‘leaders’ like CQ Brown, we can assume that 17 percent of all black officers in the Air Force are simply promoted because of how they look — and not how they lead.”
Hegseth also has openly criticized the role of women in combat, although in meetings with senators, he seemed to walk back some of those views.
Warren questioned if Hegseth would be able to lead, saying she was “deeply concerned by the many ways in which your past behavior and rhetoric indicates that you are unfit to lead the Department of Defense.”
Brian Hughes, a spokesman for the Trump transition team, said Warren’s letter “is exactly what the American voters rejected on November 5. Instead of focusing on ‘woke’ policies that have weakened our national defense, the voters gave a mandate to rebuild our military, and that’s exactly what a reform-minded Secretary of Defense like Pete Hegseth will do.”
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