{"id":2390129,"date":"2025-01-14T12:05:02","date_gmt":"2025-01-14T17:05:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hegseth-makes-the-case-why-he-should-be-defense-secretary\/"},"modified":"2025-01-14T12:08:22","modified_gmt":"2025-01-14T17:08:22","slug":"hegseth-makes-the-case-why-he-should-be-defense-secretary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hegseth-makes-the-case-why-he-should-be-defense-secretary\/","title":{"rendered":"Hegseth Makes The Case Why He Should Be Defense Secretary"},"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\">20<\/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%2Fhegseth-makes-the-case-why-he-should-be-defense-secretary%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=2390129&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>During a Senate confirmation hearing, Pete Hegseth made a \u200bcompelling case for his nomination \u200das President-elect Donald Trump&#8217;s defense secretary. He emphasized his commitment to restoring\u200c a &#8220;warrior culture&#8221; \u2064within\u2064 the Department of\u2062 Defense, focusing on aspects like warfighting, lethality, meritocracy, and military \u2063readiness.he criticized the\u2063 current management&#8217;s emphasis on diversity and inclusion policies, arguing that they have \u2063negatively\u200d impacted \u2062military \u2062readiness and recruitment. \u200dHegseth outlined a three-part strategy to enhance military effectiveness: \u200breviving the\u2064 warrior ethos,improving military infrastructure,and\u2063 re-establishing deterrence.\u200d He acknowledged that while he \u200cmay not have the conventional credentials of past \u2063defense secretaries, he believes in bringing\u2062 a\u200d fresh perspective to the \u200crole. Hegseth aims to prioritize military performance over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/half-dont-believe-doj-is-handling-hunter-biden-investigation-in-nonpartisan-manner\/\" title=\"Many doubt DOJ&#039;s impartiality in Hunter Biden investigation.\">political\u2062 considerations<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">hold leaders accountable based<\/a> on \u200bmerit and readiness.  <\/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 class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=PBX_ljXXeLw\">The Times and The Sunday Times\/YouTube<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/14\/pete-hegseth-makes-the-definitive-case-why-hes-qualified-to-be-trumps-defense-secretary\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Pete%20Hegseth%20Makes%20The%20Definitive%20Case%20Why%20He%E2%80%99s%20Qualified%20To%20Be%20Trump%E2%80%99s%20Defense%20Secretary&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/14\/pete-hegseth-makes-the-definitive-case-why-hes-qualified-to-be-trumps-defense-secretary\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Pete%20Hegseth%20Makes%20The%20Definitive%20Case%20Why%20He%E2%80%99s%20Qualified%20To%20Be%20Trump%E2%80%99s%20Defense%20Secretary&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/14\/pete-hegseth-makes-the-definitive-case-why-hes-qualified-to-be-trumps-defense-secretary\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/14\/pete-hegseth-makes-the-definitive-case-why-hes-qualified-to-be-trumps-defense-secretary\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Pete%20Hegseth%20Makes%20The%20Definitive%20Case%20Why%20He%E2%80%99s%20Qualified%20To%20Be%20Trump%E2%80%99s%20Defense%20Secretary&amp;body=Pete%20Hegseth%20provided%20his%20best%20case%20yet%20on%20why%20he's%20the%20perfect%20man%20to%20be%20President-elect%20Donald%20Trump's%20defense%20secretary.%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/14\/pete-hegseth-makes-the-definitive-case-why-hes-qualified-to-be-trumps-defense-secretary\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>During his Tuesday Senate confirmation hearing, Pete Hegseth provided his best case yet on why he&rsquo;s the perfect man to be President-elect Donald Trump&rsquo;s defense secretary.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking before the Armed Services Committee, the Army veteran <a href=\"https:\/\/d3i6fh83elv35t.cloudfront.net\/static\/2025\/01\/Hegseth-Opening-Statement-for-January-14-2025-hearing-PDF.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">noted<\/a> how the &ldquo;the primary charge&rdquo; given to him by Trump was to &ldquo;bring the warrior culture back to the Department of Defense.&rdquo; He subsequently detailed how he intends to make the Pentagon into an agency &ldquo;laser focused on warfighting, lethality, meritocracy, standards, and readiness.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-222981145\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&ldquo;The Defense Department under Donald Trump will achieve Peace Through Strength. And in pursuing these America First national security goals, we will remain patriotically a-political and stridently Constitutional,&rdquo; Hegseth said. &ldquo;Unlike the current administration, politics should play no part in military matters. We are not Republicans or Democrats &mdash; we are American warriors. Our standards will be high, and they will be equal (not equitable, that is a very different word).&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Since coming to power nearly four years ago, the Biden-Harris Pentagon has made implementing neo-Marxist ideologies such as &ldquo;diversity, equity, and inclusion&rdquo; (DEI) a top priority. These policies have <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/10\/03\/report-the-militarys-obsession-with-dei-politics-is-hampering-its-readiness\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">undermined<\/a> military readiness and <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/01\/12\/white-men-dont-want-to-join-an-army-that-tells-them-they-arent-wanted\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">contributed<\/a> to the service&rsquo;s ongoing recruiting crisis. <\/p>\n<p>Hegseth stressed that the Defense Department must &ldquo;make sure every warrior is fully qualified on their assigned weapon system, every pilot is fully qualified and current on the aircraft they are flying, and every general or flag officer is selected for leadership based purely on performance, readiness, and merit.&rdquo; He further noted how, &ldquo;Leaders &mdash; at all levels &mdash; will be held accountable,&rdquo; and that &ldquo;warfighting and lethality &mdash; and the readiness of the troops and their families &mdash; will be our only focus.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;That has been my focus ever since I first put on the uniform as a young Army ROTC cadet at Princeton University in 2001,&rdquo; Hegseth said. &ldquo;I joined the military because I love my country and felt an obligation to defend it. I served with incredible Americans in Guantanamo Bay, Iraq, Afghanistan and in the streets of Washington, DC &mdash; many of which are here today. This includes enlisted soldiers I helped become American citizens, and Muslim allies I helped immigrate from Iraq and Afghanistan. And when I took off the uniform, my mission never stopped.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><strong>[READ:[READ:<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/13\/petes-a-patriot-more-than-100-military-veterans-rally-to-support-hegseths-pentagon-nomination\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">&lsquo;Pete&rsquo;s A Patriot&rsquo;: More Than 100 Veterans And Supporters Rally For Hegseth&rsquo;s Pentagon Nomination<\/a>]<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The former Fox News host described the three-prong approach he and Trump will take to restore lethality and efficiency to the military. Specifically, he noted that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/seven-days-in-january-all-living-former-secretaries-of-defense-warn-trump-over-election-fight\/\" title=\"Seven Days in January? All Living Former Secretaries of Defense Warn Trump Over Election Fight\">incoming administration<\/a> will focus on bringing back the military&rsquo;s &ldquo;warrior ethos,&rdquo; rebuilding the service&rsquo;s broken infrastructure, and reestablishing &ldquo;deterrence&rdquo; to create peace on the world stage. <\/p>\n<p>Hegseth also responded to Democrat allegations that he&rsquo;s not &ldquo;qualified&rdquo; to serve as defense secretary. The Army veteran acknowledged that he doesn&rsquo;t &ldquo;have a similar biography to defense secretaries of the last 30 years,&rdquo; but noted, &ldquo;we&rsquo;ve repeatedly placed people atop the Pentagon with supposedly &lsquo;the right credentials&rsquo; &mdash; whether they are retired generals, academics, or defense contractor executives &mdash; and where has it gotten us?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>President-elect Trump &ldquo;believes, and I humbly agree, that it&rsquo;s time to give someone with dust on his boots the helm. A change agent. Someone with no vested interest in certain companies or specific programs or approved narratives,&rdquo; Hegseth said. <\/p>\n<p>The Army veteran reaffirmed that his &ldquo;only special interest is [America&rsquo;s] warfighter[s],  [d]eterring wars, and if called upon, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pete-hegseth-is-the-perfect-candidate-to-lead-the-pentagon\/\" title=\"Pete Hegseth Is The Perfect Candidate To Lead The Pentagon\">winning wars &#038;mdash<\/a>; by ensuring our warriors never enter a fair fight.&rdquo;  He further emphasized the importance of the military letting its troops &ldquo;win&rdquo; and then &ldquo;bring[ing] them home.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Like many of my generation, I&rsquo;ve been there. I&rsquo;ve led troops in combat, been on patrol<br \/>for days, pulled a trigger downrange, heard bullets whiz by, flex-cuffed insurgents, called<br \/>in close air support, led medevacs, dodged IEDs, pulled out dead bodies, and knelt before a battlefield cross,&rdquo; Hegseth said. &ldquo;[T]his is not academic for me; this is my life. I led then, and I will lead now.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      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<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Shawn Fleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShawnFleetwood\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@ShawnFleetwood<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/shawnfleetwood\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/biden-administration\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Biden administration<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/confirmation-hearing\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">confirmation hearing<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/defense-secretary\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Defense Secretary<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/dei\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">DEI<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Donald Trump<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/military\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">military<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/military-readiness\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">military readiness<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/pete-hegseth\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Pete Hegseth<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/senate-armed-services-committee\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Senate Armed Services Committee<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/senate-democrats\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Senate Democrats<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/trump-administration\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Trump Administration<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>During his Senate confirmation hearing, Pete Hegseth made a strong case for being Donald Trump&#8217;s defense secretary<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2390130,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Pete-Hegseth.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[35456,45173,39947,32171],"class_list":["post-2390129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-defense-secretary","tag-hegseth","tag-military-policy","tag-political-commentary"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Pete-Hegseth.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2390129","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=2390129"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2390129\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2390133,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2390129\/revisions\/2390133"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2390130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2390129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2390129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2390129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}