Pete Hegseth will face the the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday to convince the panel he is fit for the secretary of Defense post.
Hegaeth, who was nominated by President-elect Donald Trump after the Nov. 5 election, is a combat veteran who seems prepared to put up a fight to show the panel he is ready for the Cabinet position. This is in light of sexual assault to excessive drinking allegations against him.
Axios was able to attain a text of his opening statement, which include his desire to rebuild the U.S. Military.
The former Fox News host said he wants to “restore the Warrior Ethos to the Pentagon and throughout our fighting force.”
“We will reestablish trust in our military — and address the recruiting, retention and readiness crisis in our ranks,” he said.
In doing so, the military must convey unity and stregth, not its internal differences.
Secondly, the nominee wants to revive “our defense industrial base” through a host of projects. This includes financial as well as technological.
This is done by “ensuring the Pentagon can pass an audit, and rapidly fielding emerging technologies,” he said.
As with any military, the major goal for Hegseth is defending the U.S.
“First and foremost, we will defend our homeland — our borders and our skies,” Hegeth said in his third vow. “Second, we will work with our partners and allies to deter aggression in the Indo-Pacific from the communist Chinese.”
A military’s work is not done when a war is over, he said.
“Finally, we will responsibly end wars to ensure we can prioritize our resources — and reorient to larger threats,” he said. “We can no longer count on ‘reputational deterrence’ — we need real deterrence.”
“The Defense Department under Donald Trump will achieve Peace Through Strength,” Hegseth said. “We will remain patriotically a-political and stridently Constitutional.”
He said Department of Defense under him with be starkly different than the current one.
“Unlike the current administration, politics should play no part in military matters,” he added. “We are not Republicans or Democrats — we are American warriors.”
