As RedState reported, Pete Hegseth is on Capitol Hill facing the wrath of abject mediocrities who somehow became senators. Multiple Democrats who have already pledged never to vote for the Secretary of Defense nominee decided to use their time to demonstrate just how insufferable they are.
Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) was shaking during his angry rant, while Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-CA) made a brand new meme while screaming and yelling at Hegseth.
SEE: Kirsten Gillibrand Implodes During Pete Hegseth Hearing
Women matter! pic.twitter.com/ILyD0HdVEz
— e-beth (@ebeth360) January 14, 2025
Then there was Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL). When she was called on, she lit into Hegseth with all the energy of a seasoned Karen demanding to see the manager. I want you to see if you can spot the hypocrisy here.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth wasn’t interested in hearing an answer from Pete Hegseth during her unhinged questioning. She just wanted an opportunity to yell at him.
Typical. pic.twitter.com/qD4H6o6lGw
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) January 14, 2025
DUCKWORTH: What is the highest level of international negotiations that you have engaged in, that you have led in because the Secretary of Defense does lead international negotaitons. There are three main ones that the Secretary of Defense leads and signs. Can you name at least one of them?
HEGSETH: Can you repeat the question, senator?
DUCKWORTH: Sure, what is the highest level of international security agreement that you have led, and can you name some that the Secretary of Defense would lead? There are three main ones. Do you know?
HEGSETH: I have not been involved in international security arrangements because I have not been in government other than serving in the military so my job has been to lead men and women in combat.
DUCKWORTH: So no. The answer is no/ Can you name one of the three main ones?
HEGSETH: You’re talking about defense arrangements. NATO might be one of them, one that you’re referring to.
DUCKWORTH: Status of Forces agreement would be one of them.
HEGSETH: Status of Forces agreement, I’ve been a part of teaching about Status of Forces agreements.
DUCKWORTH: But you don’t remember to mention it? You’re not qualified Mr. Hegseth.
You can clearly see Duckworth is reading from a script the entire time, no doubt prepared for her by various staffers. She couldn’t have answered any of her own questions if they were posed to her in a hearing. It’s also notable that while Duckworth is chastizing Hegseth for not having previously negotiated international defense agreements, her standard would disqualify anyone from holding the position because you only do that as Secretary of Defense. Further, any negotiations would be at the behest of the White House and its desires, not Hegseth’s whims as head of the Pentagon. Do people really think Lloyd Austin, who currently holds the role, is personally negotiating Status of Force agreements?
Duckworth is employing a stupid, dishonest tactic whereby she pretends Hegseth must have experience in every aspect of the Pentagon before he can be “qualified” to hold the position. Here she is doing the same thing regarding audits.
Sen Duckworth screams at Pete Hegseth over whether he’s ever conducted an audit for an organization.
You don’t need an audit if you run your organization well. pic.twitter.com/5OYtqEILq9
— Media Research Center (@theMRC) January 14, 2025
Understand that in that clip, Duckworth is demanding that Hegseth know about individual aspects of an audit the Biden administration failed. It takes an astonishing lack of shame to excuse such a major failure at the Pentagon while screaming at someone else who wasn’t a part of it.
Again, does anyone seriously think that Austin is sitting in an office with spreadsheets doing audits of the Pentagon? That’s an absurd contention, and it’s especially rich given the current officials have failed every single audit that has been conducted during the Biden administration. But we are supposed to believe Hegseth is the unqualified one because he hasn’t spent his career suckling at the Pentagon teet. The entire reason people want an outsider to lead the Department of Defense is because insiders have done such an awful job at it.
If you’d like the watch the rest of Duckworth’s tantrum, you can do so below.
Nauseating meltdowns, down to the prepared remarks and sighs that come off like stage cues from Illinois Democrat Senator Tammy Duckworth, arguing he’s somehow not emblematic of the Soldier’s Creed (unlike her b/c of her own service and war injuries)
Disgusting. pic.twitter.com/IGJGLyUw5V
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 14, 2025
One of Duckworth’s questions involved ASEAN and what nations belong to it. In an attempt to make Hegseth look ill-informed, she shouted at him to name the members. There’s just one problem. ASEAN is not a defense alliance. It’s an economic one.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth just challenged @PeteHegseth to name one of the nations in ASEAN, what type of agreement we have with them, and just how many nations are in ASEAN.
One problem: ASEAN is not a military alliance. It’s an economic alliance.
Hegseth responds by saying he does… pic.twitter.com/2zILrO2XKp
— Bradley Devlin (@bradleydevlin) January 14, 2025
Making Sen Mazie Hirono (D-HI) look smart is a nearly impossible task, but Duckworth managed it during this hearing. She had no intentions of giving Hegseth a fair shake because she is an empty suit, devoid of any substance, only there to emote for the cameras in hopes of getting a hit on CNN. Hegseth deserves credit for not indulging these lunatics and keeping his cool.
