Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) mocked Safety Secretary-designate Pete Hegseth for flunking a normal information test all the way through his confirmation listening to on Tuesday, urging him to “perform a little homework” before he takes on his duties at the Pentagon.
After declaring that “the American individuals need a SecDef who’s ready to steer on day one” and that Hegseth is “no longer that particular person,” Duckworth assailed Hegseth’s document prime veterans organizations.
Then she acquired round to a general information test that she had obviously ready for the nominee:
DUCKWORTH: The secretary of protection is required to make quick selections day by day with the intention to-, with high-level information that’s being supplied for them. A secretary safety has to have breadth and depth of knowledge. At the moment, I am involved that you’ve got neither. Mr. Hegseth, what is the perfect level of international negotiations that you have engaged in, that you’ve got led in? For the reason that secretary of protection does lead world safety negotiations? There are three major ones that the secretary of Security leads and indicators. Can you name at least certainly one of them?
HEGSETH: Could you repeat the query, Senator?
DUCKWORTH: Certain. What is the very best stage of world security agreement that you’ve led? And can you identify some that the secretary of safety would lead? There are three primary ones.
HEGSETH: Which have now not been concerned about global safety preparations because I’ve not been in govt other than serving in the armed forces. So my job has been to-
DUCKWORTH: So no. The reply’s-, Identify some of the three major ones that the secretary of safety signs.
HEGSETH: For those who’re speaking about safety preparations, NATO might be one that you just’re regarding.
DUCKWORTH: Status of Forces agreement would be one in every of them.
HEGSETH: Status of forces settlement. I’ve been part of instructing about Standing of Forces settlement within Afghanistan.
DUCKWORTH: But you don’t remember to mention it. You’re no longer qualified, Mr. Hegseth. You’re not certified. You talk about repairing our security industrial advanced. You’re now not qualified to DO that. You should do the acquisition and go-servicing agreements, which essentially are security agreements. You can’t even mention that, you’ve carried out none of those. You talked in regards to the Indo-Pacific a little bit, and I’m glad that you simply mention it. I’ll mention it. Can you identify the importance of as a minimum one of the most countries in the ASEAN, in ASEAN, and what type of agreement we’ve with at the least a kind of nations, and what number of nations are in ASEAN, by the way?
HEGSETH: I couldn’t let you know the exact amount of nations in that, however I do know we now have allies in South Korea, and Japan, and in AUKUS with Australia, and looking to work on submarines with them and-
DUCKWORTH: None of those nations are in ASEAN. None of those three international locations that you just’ve talked about are in ASEAN. I recommend you do a little homework earlier than you put together for these kinds of negotiations. Listen, Mr. Hegseth, we ask our troops to enter hurt’s method always. We ask them to enter hurt’s means. And this behind me is a replica of The Soldier’s Creed, a copy that frequently hangs over my desk here within the Senate, and also you will have to be acquainted with it. It’s a comparable copy that hung over my desk at Walter Reed day by day that I awoke and fought my manner back as a result of I needed to return and serve subsequent to my pals who’d saved my life. These same, this comparable replica, these words I repeated over and over and over again. And let me read out two things to you, two sentences. I’ll always location the mission first. And I am disciplined bodily and mentally difficult, skilled and trained in my warrior activity. Mr. Hegseth, our troops apply these words every day, and so they man up, they usually p.c. their rucksacks, they usually go to warfare, and so they deserve a pace-setter who can lead them, not a leader who wants to lower the criteria for himself whereas elevating the factors for people. And through the way in which, our troops already meet the criteria. We requested troops to man that ship, combat that fireside, fly that helicopter unless the very ultimate breath. And so they try this daily. They cannot be led by way of someone who just isn’t able to do the job. How will we ask these warriors to coach and perform absolutely the highest requirements when you find yourself asking us to lower the factors to make you the secretary of safety simply because you are pals with our president-choose? And by way of the way, he has filed for bankruptcy six occasions. I’m now not rather sure he’s the more or less CEO you want to refer to as a a success businessman.
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