{"id":2373830,"date":"2024-11-27T10:02:59","date_gmt":"2024-11-27T15:02:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/illinois-lawmakers-weigh-in-on-defense-secretary-picks-women-in-combat-position-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-11-27T10:06:36","modified_gmt":"2024-11-27T15:06:36","slug":"illinois-lawmakers-weigh-in-on-defense-secretary-picks-women-in-combat-position-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/illinois-lawmakers-weigh-in-on-defense-secretary-picks-women-in-combat-position-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Illinois lawmakers weigh in on defense secretary pick\u2019s women in combat position &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fillinois-lawmakers-weigh-in-on-defense-secretary-picks-women-in-combat-position-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2373830&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Illinois lawmakers\u200b are divided over President-elect Donald Trump\u2019s nominee for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, particularly concerning his \u200cstance on \u2063women in combat. Senator Tammy Duckworth, a veteran, strongly disagrees with Hegseth&#8217;s comments suggesting that women should not serve in \u200bcombat roles. \u200cShe argues that women enhance \u200cmilitary effectiveness \u2063and cites her own experience\u200c as a female pilot in Iraq. In contrast, State Rep. David Friess believes\u200c Hegseth&#8217;s \u200dremarks were\u200d focused on physical capabilities rather than a slight\u2062 against women. Hegseth, who has previously expressed his opposition to women in combat, \u200dargues that <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">mixed-gender teams complicate combat situations<\/a> and may lower operational \u200bstandards. Duckworth countered this by stressing Hegseth\u2019s\u2062 lack of \u200dcommand experience and qualifications for leading a vast military organization. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-salt-pledge-spurs-latest-tax-headache-for-gop-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Trump SALT pledge spurs latest tax headache for GOP - Washington Examiner\">debate reflects broader tensions<\/a> regarding women\u2019s roles in the military and leadership capabilities.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Illinois lawmakers weigh in on defense secretary pick&rsquo;s women in combat position<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1895580\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>(The Center Square) &ndash; Illinois lawmakers disagree on the qualifications of President-elect Donald Trump&rsquo;s pick for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Illinois U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a veteran, on CBS said Hegseth is &ldquo;flat-out wrong&rdquo; in his view that women should not serve in the military in combat roles.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Remember that the Pentagon is three million servicemen and women and civilians. It is over a $900 billion budget. He&rsquo;s never run anything anywhere near to that size,&rdquo; said Duckworth, D-Schaumburg. &ldquo;And frankly, women actually make our military more effective. For example, in my unit, I was often the only woman in an all male unit, and my gender wasn&rsquo;t a problem. I just adapted and we continued to perform the mission.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>State Rep. David Friess, a veteran, said if he had to guess Duckworth was offended by Hegseth&rsquo;s comments he made while on the Shawn Ryan podcast.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;If you&rsquo;re a female, you might take offense when you think women get slighted and I don&rsquo;t think that was Pete&rsquo;s motivation. I think he was just talking about physical realities that men are just strong for women,&rdquo; said Friess, R-Red Bud. &ldquo;What I am saying and what I think Pete&rsquo;s saying. to be, for example, a Navy Seal, whatever the physical requirements are they should be the same for men and women.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>On the podcast, Hegseth said he doesn&rsquo;t like women in combat.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I love women <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-releases-list-of-president-trumps-accomplishments-and-it-is-historic\/\" title=\"White House Releases List of President Trump\u2019s Accomplishments \u2013  And It Is Historic!\">service members<\/a> who have contributed amazingly, because everything about men and women serving together makes the situation more complicated and complication in combat means casualties for worse,&rdquo; said Hegseth. &ldquo;When you actually break down what they did in the studies to open the door for women in combat they just ignored them. Special Operations have held the line [in regards to women in combat] fairly well. If they were lowering the standard to become a Navy seal just to let women in &hellip; that&rsquo;s going to change the capabilities of the Navy Seals.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this month, Trump picked Hegseth, a former Fox News host and Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hegseth has drawn criticism for his position on women in combat roles, along with his level of experience.<\/p>\n<p>Duckworth, who in 2004 deployed to Iraq as a Blackhawk helicopter pilot and sustained severe injuries when her helicopter was hit by an RPG, said Hegseth was a &ldquo;pretty low ranking guy in the military,&rdquo; and he &ldquo;never had a command position.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Having served in combat yourself, what do you think of the idea that women make fighting more complicated?&rdquo; asked a CBS host.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;He was a platoon leader, I think, once or twice, but he never even commanded a company. This is a man who is inordinately unqualified for the position,&rdquo; said Duckworth.<\/p>\n<p>Hegseth volunteered to serve in Baghdad and Samarra, Iraq, where he served first as an infantry platoon leader and later as a civil-military operations officer. Friess, who served in Desert Storm, said Hegseth is perfectly qualified and would love to see him in that position.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s only so many positions within every unit, so he very well may have gotten that next promotion had he stayed longer, but if there was somebody there that had more time than him and their both equally qualified, then that person with more time is going to get that promotion over him [Hegseth],&rdquo; said Friess.<\/p>\n<p>Friess said the military &ldquo;kills people&rdquo; and they &ldquo;blow things up&rdquo; and that&rsquo;s all that should be considered when a man or woman goes into the service. Friess suggested Duckworth is likely opposed to Hegseth&rsquo;s position that skin color and gender is irrelevant when recruiting new service members or promoting them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1895580\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1895580\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Illinois lawmakers debate Trump\u2019s defense secretary pick on women in combat roles<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2373831,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP23293582244211-1-1024x683.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[35456,6413,3673,32076,45004],"class_list":["post-2373830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-defense-secretary","tag-illinois","tag-lawmakers","tag-washington-examiner","tag-women-in-combat"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP23293582244211-1-1024x683.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2373830","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2373830"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2373830\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2373834,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2373830\/revisions\/2373834"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2373831"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2373830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2373830"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2373830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}