Pete Hegseth is Unqualified to Lead the U.S. Military

 

Pete Hegseth is fundamentally unqualified to lead the most powerful fighting force in the world as Secretary of Defense. Yes, he’s a television host with a number of personal controversies and unorthodox political positions. But ultimately, Hegseth’s candidacy to serve as Defense Secretary poses a danger to our national security because of his complete lack of qualifications and experience for such a challenging and consequential role.

Congress has a responsibility to ensure that the president’s nominees are qualified to fulfill their responsibilities – especially in positions charged with defending our national security. Unfortunately, in this case, Pete Hegseth falls far short of that mark.

  • The Secretary of Defense is in charge of the safety, security, and wellbeing of more than 1 million active-duty service members. Pete Hegseth has little experience managing more than 50 people. “The Defense Department has a budget exceeding $800 billion, with about 1.3 million active-duty troops and another 1.4 million in the National Guard, Reserves and civilian employees based worldwide. If confirmed, Hegseth would face a daunting array of global crises, from the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine and the expanding alliance between Russia and North Korea to the growing competition with China.” While Hegseth served in the military, he has only been the “CEO of a small non-profit that has between 11-50 employees.” [AP] [MSNBC]

  • The Secretary of Defense is one of the most challenging and consequential positions in the world.  “Eric Edelman, a former undersecretary of defense for policy during the Bush administration, said that even long-tenured officials like Robert Gates and Leon Panetta had found that nothing prepared them for the enormity of the job of running the Pentagon. ‘After the presidency, I think it is the second hardest job in the executive branch,’ he said. With the Pentagon helping allies fight two wars and facing the prospect of fighting one of its own in the coming years in the Middle East, Hegseth’s lack of executive branch experience put doubts in the minds of some that he’d know who to call if he had to pick up the phone in a crisis.” [POLITICO]

  • The Department of Defense is a massive, complex, and vital organization that demands serious, thoughtful, and strategic leadership. There are legitimate questions about Hegseth’s ability to manage such a challenge. “It is a massive bureaucracy, you have to understand how that works to support national security around the globe. It is tedious and challenging and it is not at all related to getting on Fox News and pontificating.” [POLITICO]

  • Ensuring the defense of our country requires more than warfighters. But Hegseth has shown no interest in the workforce that supports our troops and their families around the world and keeps them safe from harm. The DoD currently employs as many as, “950,000 non-uniformed civilians [who] serve… in 94 countries around the globe. DOD employees work in offices, laboratories, shipyards, airfields, medical facilities and schools. They serve under different flags — Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force or defense agencies. Their common mission is ‘to deter war and protect the security of our nation.’” [Military One Source]

  • Hegseth’s background demonstrates that he is an unserious candidate for Secretary of Defense: Hegseth served as an infantry officer in the Army National Guard for nearly two decades, but otherwise has no significant experience outside of the private sector and cable news. His most relevant experience in management comes from running a controversial veterans group that advocated for radical cuts to spending, including pay and benefits for active-duty personnel and veterans. While serving as a host for Fox News, he has been sued for accidentally hitting a member of the Army Hellcats band with an ax, joked about saying germs were not “a real thing,” has been accused of sexual assault and questioned the threat of climate change to national security.

DoD Quick Facts:

  • $841.4 Billion National Defense Budget

  • 3.4 million service members & civilians

  • 4,800 sites in over 160 countries

  • 11 Combatant Commands

  • Around 5,000 aircraft in U.S. Air Force

  • Approximately 5,044 nuclear weapons

  • Approximately 400 Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles

  • Around 280 Naval ships ready to be deployed

  • 71 submarines on active duty

  • More than 11,000 operational Unmanned Aircraft Systems

Published: November 2024