Fischer Questions Pete Hegseth at Confirmation Hearing

Today, U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the top Republican on the Strategic Forces Subcommittee, questioned Pete Hegseth at the confirmation hearing on his expected nomination to be Secretary of Defense.

During the hearing, Senator Fischer asked Hegseth about his stance on nuclear deterrence and emphasized the critical importance of maintaining a robust nuclear triad. She also questioned him on his plans to transform the culture within the Department of Defense to enhance efficiency and expedite the delivery of nuclear capabilities.

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Senator Fischer questions Pete Hegseth:

Senator Fischer: Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and welcome, Mr. Hegseth, to you and to your family. Thank you for the meeting that we had; we talked about a number of things. First and foremost was that nuclear weapons are foundational to our national defense and having a safe, effective and credible nuclear deterrent underpins our alliances, and as you know, deters our adversaries. Nuclear deterrence has been and-you and I, I believe, agreed on this-it must continue to be, unequivocally, the highest priority mission of the Department of Defense. But deterrence only works if our adversaries believe our nuclear forces are effective and credible. All three legs of our triad are undergoing generational recapitalization programs, and we cannot afford any more delays in those programs, Sir, do you believe and agree with President Trump's 2018 Nuclear Posture Review that preventing adversary and nuclear attacks is "the highest priority of the United States"?
Pete Hegseth: Senator, yes, I do.
Senator Fischer: If confirmed, will you commit to supporting all three legs of the nuclear triad and using every tool available to deliver these systems on schedule?

Pete Hegseth: Senator, yes, I do. Because ultimately, our deterrence, our survival, is reliant upon the capability-the perception and the reality of the capability-of our nuclear triad. We have to invest in its modernization for the defense of our nation.
Senator Fischer: While former Secretaries of Defense have stated that nuclear deterrence is the highest priority, we haven't really seen that translated into budget requests or using the tools like the Defense Production Act. You've spoken about increasing lethality. You've spoken about getting programs done faster. How would you actually implement a culture change so that we can see these delivery schedules move forward? I can tell you, in most every briefing we have, the schedules we're on are too late. So, what would you do?

Pete Hegseth: Well, ultimately, focus first on the things that are most important, as we have discussed, Senator: the nuclear triad, understanding-whether it's the B-21 or the Minuteman to the Sentinel, all aspects of the Columbia-class submarines, ballistic missiles-what are the priorities that need to be focused on. And ensure that in those particular cases-you mentioned it, Senator-use the Defense Production Act, emergency powers. If we're at a place where our nuclear capabilities are perceived to not be what they are, that is an emergency. And we have an ally in our incoming commander-in-chief, in President Donald Trump, who has spoken about these things, understands the power and strength of nuclear deterrence, will not allow them to be deprioritized.

Senator Fischer: But it's the existential threat. It's the existential threat to this nation. How do you change the culture? It's not just the Defense Production Act that's going to be able to do it. How are you going to move forward faster?

Pete Hegseth: Competition. Senator, it's important, critically important. The Death Valley that was talked about, leveraging the innovation of Silicon Valley, which for the first time in generations, has shown a willingness, desire, and capability to bring its best technologies to bear at the Pentagon, a Pentagon that has become too insular and tries to block new technologies from coming in. So, we have to embrace that. There's some great Office of Strategic Capital, DIU initiatives that provide loans to companies to participate. Because you have to invest in the defense industrial base for the longer-term projects we have to have the capability for, the missiles and the munitions, but also to rapidly field emerging technologies that we need on the battlefield right now. So, as we learn things, say, in the war in Ukraine, those technologies: as we look at threats we're going to face, find ways to rapidly field those using off the shelf technologies or standard designs, modular designs. Another easy one, Senator, that became evident in the process is digital designs. The Pentagon often builds entire systems without first using a digital design, which means you build prototypes and then scrap them and start over again. No private sector business could survive doing business that way. So, there's a lot of innovation, and I'm going to hire a lot of smart people-already have-to help with that.

Senator Fischer: The 2025 NDAA, it established a new position, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear Deterrence, Chemical and Biological Defense Policy and Programs. And that was established so we could cut through a lot of the bureaucratic stovepipes that that we see in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. If confirmed, will you direct the Department of Defense components to expeditiously implement this reform?

Pete Hegseth: I would want to look directly at exactly what that reform is. I take your word that it is great, Senator. I will review it robustly, and I look forward to implementing it.

Senator Fischer: Okay, thank you. During the first Trump administration, the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review concluded that the US needed to once again develop and deploy a nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missile known as SLCM-N, to offset significant Russian and Chinese advantages in theater range nuclear capabilities. Since then, Congress, on a strong bipartisan basis, has directed the Navy and the National Nuclear Security Administration to continue this effort. Do you support the SLCM-N program?

Pete Hegseth: As of right now, Senator, based on what I know, I do. But one of my answers I'll have repeatedly throughout this morning is getting an opportunity to look under the hood of classified material, get an understanding of true capabilities vis-à-vis enemy capabilities. Because what we know right now on the nuclear side is that Russia and China are rushing to modernize and build arsenals larger than ours. We need to match threats to capabilities, and the systems we elevate will be tied to whether those capabilities are needed based on the adversaries we face. Yes, ma'am?

Senator Fischer: Would you ensure that this program is executed according to law?

Pete Hegseth: Absolutely, absolutely, Senator.

Senator Fischer: What is your plan to revitalize the industrial base in this country?

Pete Hegseth: Serious investment targeted at systems that we truly need by also incentivizing competition and laser focus from the OSD, from the Office of Secretary of Defense, to all the particular strategic initiatives to revive them. So, it's not just one system, it's multiple systems.

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