At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Thursday, Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) questioned Matthew L. Lohmeier, a former Lt. Col. in the Space Force and author of "Irresistible Revolution: Marxism's Goal of Conquest & the Unmaking of the American Military," during his confirmation hearing to be to be Under Secretary of Air Force.
00:00Thank you very much. Senator Reid. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Lohmeyer, you posted the following on your ex-account on October 19th, 2024. If we are fortunate enough to see a Trump presidency once again, then there will be serious consequences for those senior leaders who have broken their oath, betrayed the trust of the American people, and participated in the hyper-politicalization of the uniformed services.
00:30And let me tell you about one such officer who still serves. Mr. Lohmeyer, what do you mean by serious consequences for these officers, many who are still serving and would be serving in the Air Force?
00:43Thank you for bringing this up, Senator. I share your concern for and commitment to ensuring that we've got a relatively apolitical military workplace.
00:53It was one of the driving, motivating factors prior to my separation from service in the fall of 2021 for the things that I wrote and spoke about.
01:03I was never publicly critical of my chain of command. I was never publicly critical of my senior leaders while I served in the uniform of my country.
01:12As you mentioned, that post was put on X in my private capacity as a private citizen.
01:16In 2024, I've been out of uniform for the past four years nearly and have rather enjoyed my ability to speak freely and express a full range of the expression of my ideas on platforms such as X.
01:31However, I'm very committed, and if confirmed, very committed to making sure that we eliminate political distractions from the military workplace.
01:39Our service members and the American people truly deserve the opportunity to serve in a non-partisan military workplace.
01:47And what I meant by the statement was that I believe that a Trump presidency or a Trump administration would take accountability very seriously.
01:56We wouldn't overlook that kind of partisan politicization of the military workplace that I believed we had experienced in the past years.
02:03Do you commit, then, to not take any action against any individual military or civilian who carried out DOD policy and regulations or implemented any laws enacted by Congress?
02:20Senator, I think I heard all of the questions.
02:23I missed probably part of it, but the tenor was asking of me a commitment to not hold certain leaders accountable
02:32who were following the law or implementing policy.
02:36And in that vein or that spirit or in principle, I'm only interested in holding people accountable who don't follow the law and who don't honor their oath to the Constitution, which I take very seriously.
02:45Again, I'm very interested in non-partisanship from our uniform wearers in particular
02:50and giving the right to the American people to entertain their partisan arguments.
02:56But I have no vindictive spirit.
02:59I'm not interested in retribution, but I am interested, if confirmed, in looking forward and making sure we have proper accountability
03:06and high standards in the Department of the Air Force.
03:09Then you disavow the statement you made in October 2024, saying,
03:14if Trump takes over, there will be consequences for people.
03:18And most of the councils, I assume, would be targeted at people who you had differences with
03:25because of their support of the policies, including equity and other policies.
03:33Is that true?
03:34Or you were just making up all the stuff in your post in the last several years?
03:38Well, Senator, I'd love to look at the context of all of the statements that I've made,
03:43but I will make just one point that as I've considered and contemplated the path to confirmation
03:50or through the confirmation process, which I've taken very seriously,
03:53I very much had in mind the social media presence, podcast appearances, media appearances I've had for four years,
04:03and I've left every last jot and tittle of that up online and available because I'm very deliberate in what I choose to say.
04:10I believe in what I say, and I also reserve the right to be wrong about things and to change my opinion about things.
04:16But I have nothing to hide.
04:17I try and speak what I believe to be true, and I'm happy to be corrected about things in which I'm mistaken.
04:23But in principle, what I was intending to say in that post was that I believe accountability matters,
04:28and that's the spirit of what I was trying to get at.
04:30And if confirmed, I'd look forward to ensuring we've got a culture of accountability in the Department of the Air Force.
04:37That was not intended to be retroactive or retributional in nature,
04:41but simply intended to communicate that leaders who prioritize accountability and high standards
04:48will do the American people and service members service by committing to that.
04:55Well, I think we all want to see leaders who are accountable themselves and also the highest standards.
05:04But those standards have to be consistent with this country and the servicemen and women who serve.
05:12And they come from, as I indicated, many races, many nationalities, different views, politically or otherwise.
05:21And the goal is, as you indicated, is an apolitical military force.
05:27Everything that I've read in your book and everything else is far from apolitical.
05:32You've targeted individuals that you felt had, for political reasons, unfortunate views.
05:39And if you carry that attitude into your job, you'll cause great confusion in the Air Force
05:46and great animosity within the ranks, fear, et cetera.
