Duckworth Dismisses Pete Hegseth’s ‘Unqualified’ Nomination as ‘Insult’ to Defense Department

Illinois Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth He said on Sunday that he has a candidate for Minister of Defense Pete Hegseth that he was “unqualified” for the job, described his military service as “low-ranking”, and Donald Trump Choosing to nominate him is an “insult” in light of “disturbing” accusations emerging.

Duckworth last appeared Face the Nation from CBS News and spoke with the host margaret brennan Regarding Trump’s nominations and appointments to cabinet and related positions – A complete list following Saturday’s latest additions.

During the interview, Duckworth eventually said — with some excitement — that she could see herself supporting some of Trump’s candidates. However, before moving on to that, he expressed his opposition to Hegseth going to the Ministry of Defense.

Duckworth, a retired lieutenant colonel and Purple Heart patient who lost her leg when the Black Hawk helicopter she was flying in Iraq as a member of the Illinois Army National Guard was hit by enemy RPG fire, took exception to Hegseth’s opposition to women serving in the military. struggle with the roles in any way.

The senator said this showed a lack of understanding of “where our military is” and attributed that fact to his low rank and lack of experience.

“He was a fairly low-ranking man in the army and never held a command position. “I think he was a platoon leader once or twice, but he never even commanded a company,” he said. “And this is a very unqualified man for that position.”

When Brennan asked about the allegations against Hegseth, Duckworth expressed concern that Republicans would accept Hegseth’s nomination, calling it an “insult.”

“It is frankly an insult and truly disturbing that Mr. Trump would nominate someone who admitted to bribing a victim who came forward with rape allegations against him,” he said. “This is not the type of person you want leading the Department of Defense.”

BRENNAN: As someone who served in combat, what do you think about the idea of ​​women making combat more complicated? That’s what he focused specifically on.

DUCKWORTH: This just shows that he doesn’t understand where our army is. He was a fairly low-ranking man in the army and never held a command position. I think he had been a platoon leader once or twice, but he had never even commanded a company. And this is a man who is deeply unqualified for this position.

Remember, the Pentagon is made up of three million servicemen, women, and civilians. There is a budget of over 900 billion dollars. You know, it would never run anything close to this size. And frankly, women make our military more effective.
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BRENNAN: The question of character also came up regarding this leadership role. Mr. Hegseth admitted to paying a woman to silence sexual assault accusations in 2017. He claims it was consensual sex. I’m sure you read the Monterey police report as we did here. In the criminal code, it is defined as – quote – “rape, the victim is unaware of the nature of the act.” It details both the accuser’s and Hegseth’s version of events. Here’s what Senator Markwayne Mullin said: “Two people are flirting with each other.”

Will the committee talk to the victim and ask if this was a misunderstanding?

DUCKWORTH: Yes, that will be the decision of the Republican chairman of the committee next year. I hope we do this. But I suspect they will still swing in Mr. Trump’s favor.

Frankly, I will raise these questions. Remember that we have been fighting for over a decade to overhaul the military and its treatment of military sexual trauma.

It is frankly an insult and truly disturbing for Mr. Trump to nominate someone who admitted to bribing a victim who came forward with rape allegations against him. This is not the type of person you want leading the Department of Defense.

Watch the clip above CBS News.

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