In some ways, the nomination of Pete Hegseth as secretary of defense was always intended as an exercise in dominance, a way to get Senate Republicans to humiliate themselves to gain Donald Trump’s approval.
Hegseth has white supremacist tattoos and what is said to be a pretty serious drinking problem: A friend told Jane Mayer of the New Yorker that they once saw him order three gin and tonics at a breakfast. lunch. In 2017, a woman went to the emergency room – then the police – after what she said was rape by Hegseth; he then paid a settlement and made her sign a non-disclosure agreement. (Hegseth claims the encounter, which took place while he was married to his second wife and had just had a child with the woman who would become his third, was consensual and denies any wrongdoing.) He wrote a book, The War on Warriors, which appears to consist primarily of his complaints about the presence of women in combat roles and his objections to the U.S. military being required to abide by the Geneva Conventions.
“From what I can tell,” said Sen. Tammy Duckworth, who lost both legs while serving in combat in Iraq, “the manager of your local Applebee’s has more experience running ‘a bigger budget and more staff than Pete Hegseth.’ That’s not entirely fair: the manager of your local Applebee’s probably has a lot more dignity.
So it’s no surprise that on Tuesday, when Hegseth appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee for his confirmation hearings, the assembled Republicans had only kind, even effusive, things to say about Hegseth. It’s not because they don’t know his character. It’s that they are slaves to Donald Trump’s will and have abandoned their role of advice and consent – not to mention their self-esteem – to please him.
Lest there be any doubt about the slavish obedience of the Senate Republican caucus, it appears that Trump and Hegseth’s allies have been working overtime to ensure that the confirmation process is not a fair fight . Witnesses likely to paint Hegseth in an unflattering light — including the woman who accused him of rape and several whistleblowers who exposed his drunkenness and alleged financial mismanagement as leader of two nonprofits veterans – were defamed in right-wing media and threatened with death. trial and public ruin; they ultimately made a reasonable and intentional decision not to testify.
Senators like Susan Collins and Jody Ernst — a veteran and rape survivor who has been an outspoken advocate for victims of sexual assault in the military — have refused to meet privately with Hegseth’s accuser. An FBI investigation appears to have been almost comically perfunctory and perfunctory, as was the case during the Brett Kavanaugh hearings. Meanwhile, the money behind Trump is being used to intimidate Republican senators into toeing the line, regardless of their duties of advice and consent: Elon Musk reportedly pledged to fund primary challengers to all Senate Republicans who would not vote to confirm Hegseth.
What is happening in Hegseth’s confirmation, then, is not simply the appointment of an unqualified and dangerously incompetent man to a position of authority that he cannot assume and does not deserve. Rather, it is a breakdown of constitutional checks and balances against Trump’s authoritarian ambitions – and Elon Musk’s money.
A senator who cannot meaningfully evaluate a nominee without facing impossible retaliation is someone who cannot fulfill the duties of his office. A raped woman or abused employee who cannot tell the truth about what happened to her without facing ruinous lawsuits and life-altering public harassment does not have a full, actionable right to freedom of expression. We often talk about what Trump threatwhat he could do to our system of government. This vocabulary suggests that the danger is in the future. But the constitutional order is currently significantly altered and dysfunctional: Trump and the money that supports him have already proven stronger than the separation of powers.
Hegseth’s nomination is largely a foregone conclusion, if only for the reason that Republicans have neither the strength nor the real possibility of voting against him. But his remarks provide insight into how he will lead the U.S. military once confirmed.
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Hegseth leaned heavily on Elon Musk’s plan to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs and reduce the number of women and minorities in leadership positions. “This is not the time for fairness,” he said, repeatedly calling the presence of women in the military a threat to readiness. He also appears determined to relax American soldiers’ obligations under international law in ways that would allow them to kill more civilians and torture more prisoners. He said he would use the military to facilitate mass expulsions; he said he would not provide funds for soldiers stationed in Republican-controlled states to travel for abortion care.
But what is perhaps most remarkable about Hegseth’s testimony is what he did not say: he did not say, despite being asked repeatedly, that he would refuse to carry out an unconstitutional order from Donald Trump. This is perhaps also why the president chose him. Our system of government is already broken. But the president-elect seems determined to break it further.
