🚨 NEW: Senate Republicans Vote Hegseth – Trump’s Unfit, Scandal-Ridden Defense Secretary Nominee – Out of Committee Arrow

In response to Senate Republicans voting to push through scandal-ridden nominee Pete Hegseth to lead the U.S. Department of Defense, DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement:

"Pete Hegseth's appalling allegations of abuse and plans to scam our veterans out of their benefits should disqualify him from running the Pentagon. Donald Trump only picked Hegseth because he wants a MAGA loyalist who will put Trump before all else, including our national security. Democrats will continue to make it clear that our service members deserve better than Hegseth as Secretary of Defense."

NEW: Senate Republicans voted to advance Donald Trump's scandal-ridden defense secretary nominee, Pete Hegseth, even after he flailed under direct questioning during his hearing.

NBC News: "The Senate Armed Services Committee on Monday voted along party lines to send Pete Hegseth's nomination to be defense secretary to the Senate floor as President Donald Trump tries to move quickly to get critical members of his Cabinet in place.

"All 14 Republicans on the committee voted in favor of Hegseth, while all 13 Democrats voted against him. Despite initial concerns about allegations of sexual assault, alcohol abuse and financial mismanagement - all of which Hegseth has denied - not a single Republican senator has said so far they will vote no, meaning he is likely on track to be confirmed by the Senate."

Hegseth would be the "least experienced defense secretary" in U.S. history, with Republicans and military leaders raising concerns about his inexperience.

NPR: "If confirmed, he would be the least experienced defense secretary in the history of the republic, going back to Henry Knox, the first secretary of war who was a key officer in Washington's army. Those who rise to that post often come from Capitol Hill, industry or the highest ranks of the officer corps."

Politico: "Hegseth, if confirmed by the Senate, would lead 1.3 million active-duty troops in uniform and more than 750,000 civilians, hold contentious meetings with U.S. allies and develop strike options against the Islamic State and Iranian proxies. And while Hegseth has military experience, he has never run an organization larger than a small nonprofit.

"'Folks are shocked,' said a current DOD official. 'He's just a Fox News personality that's never worked in the government.'

"'It is a massive bureaucracy, you have to understand how that works to support national security around the globe,' the official added. 'It is tedious and challenging and it is not at all related to getting on Fox News and pontificating.'"

Wall Street Journal: "Republican senators said that they want closer scrutiny of President-elect Donald Trump's pick for defense secretary. … The former Fox News host was an unconventional choice for the top Pentagon job, as he has never led a large government agency, but the debate about his qualifications has been overshadowed by allegations related to his personal life."

Hegseth's reported inappropriate behavior in the workplace - including sexual assault and abuse allegations - raises serious questions about his fitness to manage the Department of Defense.

CNN: "A California woman told police that Trump Cabinet pick Pete Hegseth physically blocked her from leaving a hotel room, took her phone, and then sexually assaulted her even though she 'remembered saying 'no' a lot,' a police report obtained by CNN shows."

Newsweek: "South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham said Tuesday that it will be 'difficult' for Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of Defense, to defend himself against an allegation of sexual assault."

The New Yorker: "A trail of documents, corroborated by the accounts of former colleagues, indicates that Hegseth was forced to step down by both of the two nonprofit advocacy groups that he ran-Veterans for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America-in the face of serious allegations of financial mismanagement, sexual impropriety, and personal misconduct."

Penelope Hegseth: "You are an abuser of women - that is the ugly truth and I have no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around, and uses women for his own power and ego. You are that man (and have been for years) and as your mother, it pains me and embarrasses me to say that, but it is the sad, sad truth."

Hegseth has said again and again for years that women shouldn't serve in combat roles.

Pete Hegseth: "I'm straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles."

ABC: In his book, he said women have performed well in dangerous support roles during war, but 'women in the infantry - women in combat on purpose - is another story.' He adds, 'women cannot physically meet the same standards as men.'

He said, 'Dads push us to take risks. Moms put the training wheels on our bikes. We need moms. But not in the military, especially in combat units.'"

Hegseth is a dangerous extremist who said he could target top military leaders in order to push Trump's political agenda and has defended those accused of war crimes.

Politico: "Amid fears Trump may use his powers as commander-in-chief to purge the top generals or civil servants, politicizing the Defense Department, Trump's pick to be Pentagon chief has explicitly confirmed that he could target military leaders, including Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. C.Q. Brown, in an effort to remove diversity and inclusion programs at the agency."

Associated Press: "In 2019, Hegseth urged Trump to pardon U.S. service members who had been accused of war crimes. He advocated for the servicemen's cases on his show and online, interviewing relatives on Fox News. He posted on social media that pardons from Trump 'would be amazing,' and added hashtags with the names of those accused."

Media Matters: "Fox's Pete Hegseth has been repeatedly advocating for looser accountability for war crimes as Trump prepares to pardon convicted war criminals"

Associated Press: "Hegseth, who has downplayed the role of military members and veterans in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack and railed against the Pentagon's subsequent efforts to address extremism in the ranks, has said he was pulled by his District of Columbia National Guard unit from guarding Joe Biden's January 2021 inauguration. He's said he was unfairly identified as an extremist due to a cross tattoo on his chest."

Media Matters: "Fox & Friends Sunday defends white supremacist Charlottesville protesters: 'There's a reason those people were out there'"

Newsweek: "Hegseth said he did not see Putin taking the world into a wider global or nuclear conflict, saying his gains would be incremental, part of what he called a 'get my s*** back' conflict."

"While the White House and the EU described Putin's actions as a violation of international law and a pretext for an invasion, Trump said Putin's move was 'genius' and 'very savvy.'

"Hegseth defended the comments saying that Trump was trying to tease the media for obsessing over the Russian leader."

Hegseth has criticized veterans for applying for earned benefits and advocated for privatizing VA health care while helping the for-profit college industry exploit veterans.

Media Matters: "Fox's Pete Hegseth, Brian Kilmeade criticize American veterans who apply for every government benefit they qualify for"

Air & Space Forces Magazine: "Hegseth worked for a number of conservative groups, including Vets for Freedom and the conservative-backed Concerned Veterans for America, which pushed for privatization of many Department of Veterans Affairs functions."

ProPublica: "For-Profit Colleges Tap a Fox News Host to Influence Trump"

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.