Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Secretary of Defense, praised women in the military as the “greatest warriors” after critics took issue with his comments that women were unsuited for combat roles.
“I would also like to take the opportunity to clarify any misinterpretation that I do not support women in the military,” he told Fox News’ Sean Hannity. monday.
Military women “love our country, they want to defend its flag and they do that every day all over the world. I’m not assuming anything,” he added.
“But since President Trump asked me to be Secretary of Defense, if the opportunity arises for me, I look forward to being the secretary to all of our warriors, men and women, who have made incredible contributions to our military.”
Secretary of Defense candidate Pete Hegseth joins Sean Hannity on Fox News. (Fox News)
Hegseth is scheduled to meet with senators on Capitol Hill this week to seek the 50 votes needed to secure a Cabinet-level position.
After the second meeting with HEGSETH, Ernst gives her a hint as to whether she will or will not support confirmation.
On the November 7 episode of the Shawn Ryan podcast, which aired just days before Hegseth, a former Fox News employee, was appointed Secretary of Defense, the candidate said: Combat role.”
Hegseth argued that women in combat roles “didn’t make us more effective or more lethal” and “made the fight more complicated.”
Hegseth noted that he is not advocating for change right now. “Imagine the agitation in Washington, D.C., if they were actually saying, ‘We need to downsize women in combat.’”
Hegseth is attending a meeting on Capitol Hill with senators whose votes he must confirm. (Anna Moneymaker)
“As a disclaimer for everyone out there, we have all worked with women and they are great,” he said, adding, “There is no need for our organization to provide incentives where men have been more capable in human history.” .”
TRUMP RUNS BEHIND HEGSETH BUT INVITED DESANTIS TO THE ARMY-NAVY GAME.
“I love our women soldiers who make amazing contributions,” he said, but added, “Everything about women serving together makes the situation more complicated, and the more complex the fight, the worse the casualties.”
He also changed standards and criticized the upper echelons of military leadership. Priority for filling diversity quotas More than just combat effectiveness. He pointed to a study conducted by the Marine Corps in 2015 that found that combined male-female units were “dramatically worse” in terms of combat effectiveness than units comprised solely of men.
President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth (left), and his wife, Jennifer Hegseth, attend a meeting with Senator Mike Rounds, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, at the Capitol on the 23rd. Washington, Thursday, December 5, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) (AP)
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“Between bone density, lung capacity and muscle strength, men and women are just different,” he said. “So if you maintain standards for everyone and you have strong women who meet those standards, it’s OK to join an infantry battalion. But that’s not the case. What happened? The standards have been lowered.”
