'This Is The Chaos Cabinet': Bill Keating Laces Into Pete Hegseth During House Hearing

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At the House Armed Services Committee hearing on Thursday, Rep. Bill Keating (D-MA) questioned Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

Transcript

00:00Chair and I recognize a gentleman from Massachusetts, Mr. Keating.

00:02Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'm going to take my time to react to the testimony already given,

00:07the three pillars that each of the witnesses and the Secretary highlighted. Pillar number one,

00:13restore the warrior ethos. You know, I've had the privilege in this committee to see

00:17firsthand a special window of our troops, their courage, their tenacity, their commitment.

00:23You don't have to restore the warrior ethos, sir. It's already there. We've never lost it.

00:30Pillar two, I just want to highlight something that is a concern. Pillar two is the border security

00:37issue. And among that, I'm really worried about the agreement with El Salvador that exists. I think

00:46it's very cloudy. We don't know exactly what they're getting in return for their commitment to house

00:54the hellhole prisons in the hellhole prisons they have. People that are shipped there, transported

01:01there illegally. But there's problems with that. It violates the Constitution, number one. It violates

01:10the first step act that President Trump paraded around and took so much credit for in his first

01:16term. He and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner. It violates the Leahy Law, which prohibits federal money to be

01:22used for prisons of that type. It violates the Foreign Assistance and Transparency and Accountability

01:28Act that our Secretary of State was a proud sponsor of. It demands taxpayer accountability for monies,

01:35because all we know is the White House has said they've given El Salvador, given their strongman,

01:42Buckele, $6 million. But then they're holding another $15 million in international narcotics and

01:50control and law enforcement to the side for prospective use here. And of concern, too, is we're

01:56now transferring helicopters, military assets, to Buckele. We're giving him helicopters. And I'm

02:06concerned about that. Supposedly, it's there for humanitarian reasons. It's being taken away from

02:11Drug Control Task Force dealing with the fentanyl issue. And now it's there for humanitarian reasons

02:18in Buckele's control. And I'm just worried about going down the road here. I think there should be

02:25strict oversight of what they're getting from the U.S. If that's not there and there's dark money and

02:31dark assets being passed, we could have the makings of another Iran-Contra. Thirdly, the third pillar,

02:37deterrence. And I look to what every expert militarily, from a security standpoint, said

02:45is the greatest deterrent that we have with China and Russia, and our greatest weakness if we lose it.

02:54And that's the war in Ukraine. If we fail to support Ukraine, and Ukraine loses,

03:01that's a green light for China. That's just not my opinion. That's virtually every security expert.

03:08We have something China and Russia don't have. We have a coalition of 50 countries,

03:1450, dealing together. They don't have anything near that. Yet, you've attacked that alliance.

03:22You said they're pathetic. You called them freeloaders. They have paid, and we want more money,

03:28and they're giving more money for their own defense. But they've given $199 billion towards Ukraine,

03:33more to the U.S., by the way. And they're not freeloaders when they came to our assistance at 9-11.

03:40They suffered thousands of casualties, several hundred deaths. They're young men and women

03:45sacrificed to defend Article 5, the only time it was exercised for the United States. They're not

03:52freeloaders. They're dealing with that. And yet today, you attacked one of them saying that now

03:59you've confirmed that the U.S. has plans in place to invade the territory of a founding member of NATO,

04:06Denmark. That's not being string. That's not being strong. It's also chaotic. This is the chaos cabinet

04:15when it comes to Ukraine. Secretary of the Treasury, Putin is a war criminal. Trump's chief negotiator,

04:23Putin is trustworthy. He's not a bad guy. Secretary of State, Putin was a war criminal, I guess, but now

04:28he's not. He doesn't know. Trump says Ukraine was the aggressor. The Secretary of State says Russia was

04:35the aggressor. You, sir, Secretary of Defense, said Russia was the aggressor. The chair of Joint Chiefs

04:41said yesterday that Putin would even stop at Ukraine. The Trump ambassador resigned because

04:49of this policy. And I think Vice President Vance had it best. He said he doesn't care what happens

04:55to Ukraine one way or the other. That is not strength. That is not using our coalition. That

05:01is not deterrence. You're wrong on all your pillows. I yield back.

05:04Chairman Yulza.

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