Disorder ensued during Pete Hegseth’s initial statements at his U.S. Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday, as protestors and dissenters, who had waited for hours to secure limited seating in the committee room, were forcibly removed following several disruptions.
The nominee for Secretary of Defense under President-elect Donald Trump commenced his introduction by addressing the reasons behind Trump’s unwavering confidence in his capability to lead the department, despite extensive media scrutiny regarding his purported issues with alcohol and relationships with women. Before he could complete his remarks, at least three protestors were ejected from the audience. “You are a misogynist!” shouted an elderly man from the rear of the room while Hegseth attempted to speak over him. The omnidirectional microphones in the room picked up more of his outbursts, but by that time, the protestor had already been escorted out. Hegseth calmly took a sip of water and patiently awaited the opportunity to resume his opening statement.
“The primary directive he provided me was to restore the warrior culture within the Department of Defense,” Hegseth stated. “He, like myself, desires a Pentagon that is intensely focused on lethality, meritocracy, combat readiness, and preparedness.” At that moment, a second female protestor from the back of the room interrupted Hegseth, who remained composed and smiled at the senators as officers from the Dirksen Building worked to remove her from the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. A C-SPAN camera documented the scene as she was restrained and escorted out. Several audience members and press photographers quickly rose to capture the incident. Unfortunately for the woman, her remarks directed at Hegseth were drowned out by the distance from the microphones.
Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) stated, “You may proceed, sir,” after a woman and a man in a pink service member’s uniform were escorted from the room. Hegseth, making a third attempt to advocate for his confirmation, asserted, “We will restore trust in our military,” while addressing the issues of recruitment, retention, and readiness crises within the armed forces. Not to be overshadowed, a third protestor raised his voice more than the previous demonstrators, necessitating the intervention of multiple officers to remove him from the premises. Following five minutes of statements punctuated by another five minutes of persistent disruptions, senators finally had the opportunity to question Hegseth regarding the controversies that have surrounded him since his nomination was announced in November.
Senator Wicker initiated the questioning by inquiring whether there was any truth to various mainstream media reports suggesting that Hegseth developed a drinking problem after his military service. Hegseth responded by characterizing the reports as part of a “coordinated smear campaign orchestrated in the media against us. Unfortunately, our leftwing media in America today seems indifferent to the truth.” Senators are anticipated to vote on Hegseth’s confirmation by the end of the week, thereby providing President-elect Trump with a leader for his national security team ahead of his inauguration.
