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Senator Mitch McConnell, R-KY., Was one of the three Republicans who voted on Friday against Pete Hegseth, who was confirmed by little as Secretary of Defense in the New Trump administration.
The other votes of the “No” of the Republicans were of the moderate Lisa Murkowski, Alaska Republican, and Susan Collins, Maine Republican, which forced Vice President JD Vance to break the 50-50 tie to confirm the choice. of President Donald Trump to lead the Pentagon.
“The most important cabinet official of any administration is the Secretary of Defense,” McConnell wrote, explaining his opposition to Hegseth. “Faced with the most serious threats to the US national security interests since World War II, this position is even more important today.”
“The main opponents are working closer together to underminate US interests worldwide,” he said. “And military capacities and industrial capacity for the United States are increasingly insufficient to deter or prevail in a significant conflict with China or Russia, especially considering the real risk of simultaneous challenges of other adversaries such as the ‘ Iran or North Korea. ”
Pete Hegseth confirmed that Didera Dida the Pentagon after Van Vance Vote Disfunted
Senator Mitch McConnell, R-KY, asks a journalist during a press conference after the Senate Republican Policy Weekly Lunch in the United States Capitol on November 19, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Hegseth, a former Fox News presenter, had faced questions before his confirmation of his infidelity, accusations of sexual assault and excessive consumption of alcohol, his previous comments opposed the women who serve in the Combat roles in the army and their leadership skills.
Married three times, Hegseth has admitted that he was a “serial cheater” before becoming a Christian and marry his current wife, Jenny. He also originally said that women were opposed in combat, before saying later that he only opposed the standards for women in combat that are different from those of men. Hegseth has also denied allegations of sexual assault and said that he would refrain from drinking alcohol as Secretary of Defense.
McConnell said “dust in the boots” in reference to Hegseth’s military service “does not even manage to distinguish this candidate from the multiple predecessors of the last decade. Nor is it a preview for success. The experienced secretaries of experience Distinguished combat and time in the trenches have failed at work. “
“Effective management of about 3 million military and civil staff, an annual budget of almost $ 1 trillion and alliances and associations worldwide is a daily test with amazing consequences for the safety of the US people and the Our global interests, “said the senator. . “Mr Hegseth has not yet shown that this test will happen. But as he takes office, the consequences of failure are as great as never before.”
Moderated Republican Murkowski will not pick up Trump Pick Hegseth for Secretary of Defense
Pete Hegseth declares during his confirmation audience of the Senate Armed Services at Capitol Hill on January 14, 2025 in Washington, DC (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
McConnell emphasized that Hegseth, in his testimony to the armed service committee, “did not take into account this reality” that the US “confront a coordinated aggression of decided adversaries to break the order that sustains security and prosperity. American. ”
“President Trump has rightly asked NATO allies to spend more in our collective defense. But the candidate who would have been responsible for leading this effort would not even commit to growing investment in defense of states United beyond the low bar established by Biden Administration’s budget applications.
The senator also said that Hegseth’s testimony had no “substantial observations on how to defend Taiwan or the Philippines against a Chinese attack, or even if he believes that the United States should.” McConnell said that Hegseth did not “articulate in any detail a strategic vision to deal with the long -term long -term threat it emanates.” of China.
Pete Hegseth at the end of his confirmation audience in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee, at Washington Capitol, on Tuesday, January 14, 2025. (AP/Ben Curtis photo)
McConnell also pointed out the lack of “substantial discussions” about “counteracting the alignment of our adversaries with deeper alliance relationships and wider industrial defense cooperation.”
“This, of course, is due to a change,” said McConnell. “As 29th Secretary of Defense, Mr A process of awarding the tax year 25 unfinished than without its intervention.
“Of course, the brave young men and women join the army with the understanding that it is a meritocracy,” he added. “This precious confidence lasts only as long as legitimate civil leadership maintains what is to be a firewall between the military and politics. The Biden administration failed in this fundamental task. But the restoration of the” warrior culture “will not come from l ‘Exchange of a set of cultural warriors. ” for another “.
