Tommy Tuberville Defends Embattled Secretary Pete Hegseth, Says 'RINOs', Globalists Are Trying To 'Smear' Him

Forbes Breaking News

During remarks on the Senate floor Thursday, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) spoke about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and claimed that he is the victim of a 'smear' campaign.

Transcript

00:00Mr. President, I come to the floor today to talk about how my Democratic colleagues, some

00:05rhinos, and the globalist media are working together to try to take down Donald Trump

00:12and derail his America's First agenda.

00:16The latest target, President Trump's Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth.

00:21I've said many times that I'm convinced that many Democrats would rather see America and

00:26its leaders fail than to see this country succeed.

00:31It's sad, but it's true.

00:34You know, when President Trump nominated Pete Hegseth to serve as Secretary of Defense, he

00:38intentionally picked someone who understands what it means to fight for this country, not

00:47from behind a desk, but from the front lines.

00:52Pete didn't inherit stars on his uniform.

00:55He earned his stripes while serving in the Middle East.

01:00He's one of the few in Washington who's been in the fight and experienced the traumas of

01:06war.

01:08He knows firsthand what the warfighter goes through each and every day, which is why military

01:14recruiting has skyrocketed under his leadership.

01:18I don't know why, I don't know about you, but as a dad of two sons, I am glad that the

01:25man leading our Department of Defense knows the dangers of war firsthand.

01:30You know, for decades, this country has gotten involved in foreign wars that we've had no business

01:39being involved in.

01:41Thousands of Americans have lost their lives.

01:44Tillions of dollars have been squandered fighting wars where no clear objectives past the victory

01:51has ever been provided to the American citizen.

01:54We just fight them.

01:56You would think that we would learn from at least one or two of these painful lessons.

02:03But no, that hasn't stopped the globalist war monger machine in Washington, D.C.

02:10They love war because it funds paychecks.

02:13You know, for this reason, Democrats, the swamp, and some rhinos banded together to oppose Pete

02:22Hegseth immediately after he was nominated by President Trump.

02:26It didn't take them long.

02:28I'm convinced that their opposition to Hegseth was only because he was not part of the military

02:36industrial complex.

02:39As a member of the Armed Services Committee, I came to the Senate floor to urge my colleagues

02:44to support Pete Hegseth's nomination because of his outsider, not Washington, D.C., but outsider

02:51status.

02:54Thankfully, he was confirmed.

02:56But unfortunately, the smears of some of which have come from my colleagues have only

03:01gotten worse since Hegseth was confirmed.

03:06You know, globalists in the media, some Republicans are working overtime to try to get Pete Hegseth.

03:12The media is breathlessly rushing to put a microphone in front of every single disgruntled

03:18former Pentagon employee who has been fired by this secretary.

03:23You know, it doesn't matter what they're fired for.

03:27All that matters to the media and the rhinos is that they have something to say bad about

03:32the secretary of defense.

03:34It's clear as day in and day out that these efforts to embarrass Hegseth are nothing more

03:43than desperate attempts to salvage reputations and distract from the successes he is already

03:49having in the Pentagon.

03:51The truth is, Hegseth inherited a complete, absolute mess at the DOD.

03:58The Pentagon has failed an audit seven years in a row.

04:04You know, if a business did that, they'd go under.

04:08But in our government, that's just par for the course.

04:12And thanks to the Biden administration's horrible withdrawal from Afghanistan, countries who hate

04:17us like China, Iran, and Venezuela have been emboldened.

04:21Instead of working to deter World War III, however, Joe Biden's Pentagon was more focused on social

04:28justice.

04:29In 2024, the Biden Defense Department requested more than $114 million for DEI initiatives,

04:39$114 million.

04:41Meanwhile, recruitment was a historic low and falling.

04:46Military readiness was slipping and the world saw a weakened United States.

04:53Secretary Heseth made it clear that he's here to reverse course and that changes that he's

05:00made are already visible to the positive.

05:04Secretary Heseth has already eliminated more than 200 diversity and inclusion positions and

05:09cut more than $580 million in wasteful grants and contracts.

05:15$580 million.

05:17Secretary Heseth has made it clear that he has focused on warfighting, readiness, mission

05:23focus, not political correctness, or appeasing the woke mob.

05:28He's restored merit-based promotions, refocused leadership training on battlefield effectiveness,

05:34terminated taxpayer-funded abortions from military personnel, and reinstalled discipline as a cornerstone

05:42of the United States of America military.

05:45This isn't just talk, either.

05:47The Department is actively removing woke DEI materials from service academies and replacing

05:53them with warfighting-centric curricula.

05:57He also cut through bloated procurement delays and brought transparency to the defense budget.

06:06What a novel concept is actually knowing what your budget is.

06:10You know, just four months in, DOD has achieved 100 percent operational control of the border.

06:16This was after the Biden administration said for four years that, hey, there's nothing that

06:21they could do to secure the border.

06:23Well, what a joke.

06:26Under Secretary Heseth's leadership, the Department has moved to reduce acquisitions, timelines,

06:30fast-track critical update systems, and is making sure the U.S. is ready to compete and win wars

06:39in the 21st century.

06:41And construction on the historic Golden Dome, by the way, is well underway.

06:46But it's not just about equipment.

06:49Pete has doubled down on his support for the warfighter by improving access to mental health

06:56services, other resources that boost morale and readiness.

07:00It was much needed.

07:01He reinstated the service members who were wrongfully removed over their personal decisions to not

07:07take the COVID-19 vaccine.

07:11Many of them.

07:12He's reinstated quite a few.

07:15The fact that President Biden and Secretary Austin dismissed these service members was absolutely

07:21dead wrong.

07:23And I'm glad that President Trump's administration has taken quick action to right this wrong.

07:29When I met with Pete during his confirmation process, I told him plainly, don't go to Washington

07:34to make friends, but to go there and fight for the warfighter.

07:39So far, he's kept his promise.

07:41I can't speak for everyone, but I know the folks I've talked to back in my state of Alabama are

07:47very appreciative.

07:51We need a Secretary of Defense who's focused on one thing, and one thing only, defending

07:57America.

07:59And that's what Pete Hexteth is doing.

08:02And he will tell you this, there is no second place in war.

08:06We have to be ready at all times.

08:08You know, under the Biden administration, 13 American troops lost their lives because of

08:14poor planning in Afghanistan.

08:16We all know that.

08:17We've seen it.

08:18We're pretty much alive.

08:19Under President Trump and Hexteth, we have executed successful strikes against terrorist

08:24hooties that have resulted in critical shipping lanes being reopened.

08:30We have to get our shipping lanes open because it is costing this country millions and millions

08:37of dollars, and world leaders across the country are begging for this to happen.

08:43Pete Hexteth didn't sign up to be liked by the D.C.

08:46cocktail circuit.

08:47You know, he committed to making the military great again, and that's exactly what he's doing.

08:54You know, the swamp doesn't like people it can't control, but America loves its leaders who

09:01tell the truth and fight for what matters.

09:04Pete Hexteth is one of those leaders.

09:07So let's be clear, Pete is not the problem.

09:09A lot of the media think Pete Hexteth's a problem.

09:13He's not the problem.

09:14He's the solution to the problem we've had.

09:18And while the swamp keeps losing its ever-loving mind, because we have leaders who are actually

09:23putting America first again, Secretary Hexteth will keep marching forward, focused on the

09:30only thing that matters, making our military the strongest, fierce, and most respected fighting

09:36force in the world.

09:39I yield the floor, Mr. President.

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