{"id":2379604,"date":"2024-12-13T05:05:01","date_gmt":"2024-12-13T10:05:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/todd-young-invites-a-primary-challenge-by-refusing-to-back-hegseth\/"},"modified":"2024-12-13T05:08:02","modified_gmt":"2024-12-13T10:08:02","slug":"todd-young-invites-a-primary-challenge-by-refusing-to-back-hegseth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/todd-young-invites-a-primary-challenge-by-refusing-to-back-hegseth\/","title":{"rendered":"Todd Young Invites A Primary Challenge By Refusing To Back Hegseth"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/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%2Ftodd-young-invites-a-primary-challenge-by-refusing-to-back-hegseth%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=2379604&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>Senator todd Young from Indiana has expressed uncertainty regarding his\u200c support for Pete Hegseth&#8217;s nomination as the next Secretary of Defense, despite recent discussions they had on the topic. After thier meeting, Young described it\u2062 as extensive and thorough\u200b but is still undecided on\u2064 whether to\u200c endorse\u2064 Hegseth, \u2064which is \u2063seen as disappointing by some, especially given the\u2064 strong support Donald Trump received in Indiana\u200b during recent elections. Critics point out that Young&#8217;s indecisiveness appears to disregard the clear mandate from Indiana voters, contrasting with more straightforward support shown by other state representatives.\u200c Young has faced scrutiny for \u2063previously voting in favor of Biden&#8217;s defense Secretary Lloyd Austin\u200c and has \u200ba history of \u200bcollaborating with Democrats\u2064 on various controversial matters,which suggests a tendency to align \u2064with the Washington \u200bestablishment rather than\u200b his constituents\u2019 preferences. This pattern raises questions about his commitment to the Republican\u2064 agenda and the\u2063 expectations of his voter\u2064 base.  <\/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<div>\n<p>Is Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., having his <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/12\/04\/trump-world-sources-joni-ernst-is-waging-aggressive-personal-jihad-against-hegseth\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Joni Ernst<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/12\/09\/i-support-pete-ernst-changes-tune-following-second-hegseth-meeting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">moment<\/a>? It sure seems like it. <\/p>\n<p>On Wednesday, the Hoosier State&rsquo;s senior senator told CNN mouthpiece <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/manu-raju\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Manu Raju<\/a> he&rsquo;s still undecided as to whether he will support Pete Hegseth&rsquo;s nomination to become the next secretary of defense. The comments came after the two veterans <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SenToddYoung\/status\/1866992895498047784\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">met<\/a> to discuss Hegseth&rsquo;s potential promotion earlier that day.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<div lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\n<p>After meeting for more than an hour with Pete Hegseth, I asked GOP Sen. Todd Young if he&rsquo;s ready to support him. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I haven&#8217;t decided yet, as I&#8217;ve shared with him and happy to share with others&hellip;We&nbsp;had a good meeting. It was an extensive conversation, and he answered the&hellip;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&mdash; Manu Raju (@mkraju) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/mkraju\/status\/1866980145501745257?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 11, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t decided yet, as I&rsquo;ve shared with him and happy to share with others&hellip;We&nbsp;had a good meeting. It was an extensive conversation, and he answered the questions I asked,&rdquo; Young reportedly <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/mkraju\/status\/1866980145501745257\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a>. &ldquo;We had a very fulsome meeting. We covered everything on my mind, and I suspect the minds of most everyone that&rsquo;s watching this.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Putting aside the fact that he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/joe-biden-hands-his-first-cabinet-meeting-in-nearly-a-year-over-to-jill\/\" title=\"Joe Biden Hands His First Cabinet Meeting in Nearly a Year Over to Jill\">apparently doesn&#038;rsquo<\/a>;t know what &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/dictionary.cambridge.org\/us\/dictionary\/english\/fulsome\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">fulsome<\/a>&rdquo; means, Young&rsquo;s remarks are a disgrace. Indiana voters reelected Donald Trump to the White House by a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/2024-election\/results\/indiana\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">nearly 20-point margin<\/a> last month with a mandate to alter the Washington status quo. But rather than endorse Hegseth&rsquo;s confirmation like Indiana Sen.-elect <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=8rxkDKSZV8Q\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jim Banks<\/a>, Young has taken it upon himself to ignore the will of his constituents and play games with Hegseth&rsquo;s nomination.<\/p>\n<p>When pressed on why the Indiana senator has reportedly declined to commit to supporting Hegseth&rsquo;s nomination despite <a href=\"https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/legislative\/LIS\/roll_call_votes\/vote1171\/vote_117_1_00005.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">previously voting<\/a> to confirm Biden-appointed Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Young Communications Director Matt Lahr didn&rsquo;t provide The Federalist with a direct answer. Instead, he said that Young and Hegseth &ldquo;had a great meeting yesterday afternoon and [Young] looks forward to the confirmation hearing.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Lahr also referred The Federalist to a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SenToddYoung\/status\/1866992895498047784\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">post<\/a> on X the senator issued yesterday after his meeting with Hegseth, in which Young noted his appreciation for Hegseth&rsquo;s &ldquo;candor as [they] discussed our readiness challenges, the China threat, auditing the Pentagon, his vision for DoD, and other <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-mike-pompeo-media-trying-to-divide-and-create-separation-between-me-and-trump\/\" title=\"Exclusive \u2014 Mike Pompeo: Media Trying &#039;to Divide and Create Separation&#039; Between Me and Trump\">important national security issues<\/a>.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Young&rsquo;s refusal to back Hegseth&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jon-tester-says-harris-nomination-isnt-done-deal-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Jon Tester says Harris nomination isn\u2019t \u2018done deal\u2019 - Washington Examiner\">nomination isn&#038;rsquo<\/a>;t surprising, however. The GOP senator has spent much of his career defending the D.C. establishment.<\/p>\n<p>Young had no issue joining Democrats in confirming radical left-wing Biden appointees like Austin, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/legislative\/LIS\/roll_call_votes\/vote1171\/vote_117_1_00007.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Antony Blinken<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/legislative\/LIS\/roll_call_votes\/vote1171\/vote_117_1_00006.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Janet Yellen<\/a>. The Indiana senator did, however, have a problem with endorsing Trump&rsquo;s presidential run this year, which he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msnbc.com\/rachel-maddow-show\/maddowblog\/yet-another-republican-senator-says-wont-endorse-trump-2024-rcna142498\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">refused<\/a> to do even after it became clear Trump would be the GOP nominee.<\/p>\n<p>Last year, Young was one of several Republican senators to <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/11\/01\/gop-senators-betray-tuberville-over-protest-of-pentagons-abortion-extremism\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">join<\/a> Democrats in attacking Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., for protesting the Pentagon&rsquo;s unlawful and immoral abortion policy. Young and his GOP colleagues&rsquo; cowardice forced Tuberville to <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/12\/05\/dont-blame-tuberville-for-dropping-his-pentagon-abortion-protest-blame-his-feckless-gop-colleagues\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">abandon<\/a> his protest, allowing the Defense Department&rsquo;s use of taxpayer dollars to subsidize abortion-related travel to continue unabated. <\/p>\n<p>In the summer of 2022, Young <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/06\/22\/the-14-republicans-who-voted-to-advance-democrats-gun-control-wish-list-just-betrayed-their-base\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">joined<\/a> Senate Democrats in advancing a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">radical gun control package<\/a>. As my colleague Jordan Boyd reported, the bill included &ldquo;vague language&rdquo; about &ldquo;dating partners&rdquo; and <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/red-flag-laws\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">red flag laws<\/a>, &ldquo;which allow law enforcement to temporarily confiscate guns from someone the government deems a danger to the public or themselves,&rdquo; and can &ldquo;be easily exploited by partisan bureaucrats.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Later that same year, Young <em>again<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/11\/29\/12-gop-senators-help-democrats-erode-americans-right-to-act-on-religious-convictions-about-marriage\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">helped<\/a> Democrats by supporting the wrongly named &ldquo;Respect for Marriage Act.&rdquo; The bill effectively <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/11\/15\/gop-senators-top-priority-after-failed-midterms-is-helping-democrats-trample-the-meaning-of-marriage\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">opened up<\/a> the legal system to abuse by left-wing LGBT activists to harass Christians and other religious Americans who uphold the true meaning of marriage. <\/p>\n<p>Within the past congressional session alone, Young has voted for <a href=\"https:\/\/heritageaction.com\/scorecard\/votes\/s84-2024\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">bloated<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/heritageaction.com\/scorecard\/votes\/s114-2024\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">spending<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/heritageaction.com\/scorecard\/votes\/s284-2023\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">bills<\/a>, a <a href=\"https:\/\/heritageaction.com\/scorecard\/votes\/s146-2023\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">suspension<\/a> of the debt ceiling, and <a href=\"https:\/\/heritageaction.com\/scorecard\/votes\/s41-2024\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">shipping<\/a> more U.S. taxpayer dollars to <a href=\"https:\/\/heritageaction.com\/scorecard\/votes\/s154-2024\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">foreign countries<\/a> such as Ukraine. The Indiana Republican also <a href=\"https:\/\/heritageaction.com\/scorecard\/votes\/s76-2023\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">opposed<\/a> an amendment introduced by Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., that sought to create a special inspector general to oversee all U.S. funds given to Ukraine. <\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, Young&rsquo;s track record isn&rsquo;t unique among the Senate GOP. He&rsquo;s one of many &ldquo;red state&rdquo; Republicans who have <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/11\/22\/want-better-republicans-stop-sitting-out-primaries\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">regularly<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/02\/09\/getting-involved-in-republican-primaries-is-the-best-way-to-weed-out-the-gop-establishment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">betrayed<\/a> their voters&rsquo; interests and empowered the federal leviathan destroying the country through <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/12\/06\/reining-in-federal-spending-must-start-with-the-executive-branch\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reckless spending<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/12\/10\/merrick-garland-is-the-worst-attorney-general-in-american-history\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">lawfare<\/a>, and more. <\/p>\n<p>If Hoosiers want Hegseth confirmed as the next defense secretary, they need to give Young the Joni Ernst treatment. <\/p>\n<p>After The Federalist <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/12\/04\/trump-world-sources-joni-ernst-is-waging-aggressive-personal-jihad-against-hegseth\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a> on Sen. Ernst&rsquo;s behind-the-scene efforts to sabotage Hegseth&rsquo;s nomination, an avalanche of pressure from conservatives forced the Iowa Republican to <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/12\/09\/i-support-pete-ernst-changes-tune-following-second-hegseth-meeting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">signal support<\/a> for his confirmation. Without such blowback, it&rsquo;s unlikely Ernst and her <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/12\/04\/trump-world-sources-joni-ernst-is-waging-aggressive-personal-jihad-against-hegseth\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sidekick<\/a> Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., would&rsquo;ve <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2024\/12\/11\/petes-hegseth-turned-confirmation-fight-around-seven-days\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">changed<\/a> their tune on the matter.<\/p>\n<p>Red-state Republicans like Young need to be put in check. Voters sent them to Washington to fulfill a job &mdash; and that is to represent and vote for their interests. If these Republicans refuse to do so, it&rsquo;s incumbent upon their voters to primary them out of office and send a message to other weak-kneed GOPers that betraying their constituents won&rsquo;t be tolerated.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-american-freedom-convoy-set-to-launch-on-march-1\/\" title=\"Exclusive: \u2018American Freedom Convoy\u2019 Set To Launch On March 1\">state content writer<\/a> for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Is Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., wavering on Hegseth&#8217;s nomination?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2379605,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Todd-Young.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[45173,46575,32603,37676,46710],"class_list":["post-2379604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-hegseth","tag-indiana-politics","tag-political-news","tag-primary-challenge","tag-todd-young"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Todd-Young.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2379604","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\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2379604"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2379604\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2379608,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2379604\/revisions\/2379608"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2379605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2379604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2379604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2379604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}