Donald Trump’s controversial pick for the secretary of defense Pete Hegseth will be facing the Senate confirmation hearing today. He will tell the committee in his opening statement that he will restore the warrior ethos to the Pentagon, give new defense companies a better chance to win contracts.
“It is true that I don’t have a similar biography to Defense Secretaries of the last 30 years,” Hegseth is expected to say. “But, as President Trump also told me, we’ve repeatedly placed people atop the Pentagon with supposedly ‘the right credentials’ —whether they are retired generals, academics, or defense contractor executives—and where has it gotten us? He believes, and I humbly agree, that it’s time to give someone with dust on his boots the helm.”
Why Pete Hegseth is so controversial
Hegseth, a 44-year-old former Fox News host who served in the Army, is the most controversial pick after Matt Gaetz withdrew his nomination as attorney general. Many thought Pete would also face the same fate but the MAGA battalion threw their weight behind Hegseth..
Hegseth has been accused of sexual assault, drunken brawl, controversial statements etc. He is not in favor of allowing women into combat roles. He defended paying a woman for sex claiming that it was a consensual act but he was blackmailed into paying money during the Me Too movement. The woman told police that Hegseth physically blocked her from leaving a hotel room, rook her phone and then sexually assaulted her even though she continuously resisted. Hegseth was not charged and he said he repeatedly made sure that the woman was comfortable with whatever was going on.
Hegseth has been married three times and is father to seven kids, including step kids. He got married to his current wife Jennifer Rauchet in 2019. Before that, Hegseth was married to Samantha Derring from 2010 to 2017. From 2004 to 2009, he was married to Meredith Schwarz. In an interview with Megyn Kelly, he admitted to have scheated serially before he found Christ. “Thank you to my incredible wife Jennifer, who has changed my life and been with me throughout this entire process,” his testimony says. “I love you, sweetheart, and I thank God for you. And as Jenny and I pray together each morning, all glory — regardless of the outcome — belongs to our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. His grace and mercy abound each day. May His will be done.”
