'I Hope You've Learned From These Episodes': Jack Reed Highlights Missteps By Secretary Pete Hegseth

Forbes Breaking News

At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Wednesday, Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) spoke to Sec. Pete Hegseth about missteps he's made in his time as secretary.

Transcript

00:00I turn to my friend and colleague, Senator Reid, for his remarks.

00:03Well, thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

00:05Mr. Secretary, General Cain, Ms. McDougall, welcome.

00:11Mr. Secretary, as the chairman has said, this is a dangerous moment.

00:16As we speak, missiles are striking cities across Israel and Iran,

00:21threatening to ignite a regional war.

00:23There should be no doubt that for the safety of the United States

00:27and the rest of the world, Iran cannot acquire a nuclear weapon.

00:31However, Prime Minister Netanyahu's decision to preemptively launch a war with Iran

00:37against the urging of the president threatens the stability of the entire region

00:42and the safety of Americans stationed there.

00:45The Trump administration must take urgent steps to prevent a wider war.

00:50Mr. Secretary, I would ask you to be crystal clear this morning

00:53about the administration's posture toward Iran.

00:55More broadly, Russia continues its bloody assault on Ukraine,

01:00unmoved by President Trump's negotiating tactics,

01:03and China is threatening our allies in the Indo-Pacific

01:06as America once again redirects its attention to the Middle East.

01:11This is a moment that requires leadership, expertise, and confidence

01:15from the Department of Defense.

01:17And, Mr. Secretary, I am concerned, frankly,

01:20that these qualities have been eroded under your leadership.

01:23In your opening statement, you write, quote,

01:26At the Department of Defense, we are sweeping away distractions

01:30to focus on our core mission of warfighting, close quote.

01:33I'm a bit skeptical.

01:35Since you were sworn in, much of the Pentagon has been in disarray.

01:39You have purged thousands of defense experts,

01:42gutted oversight offices,

01:44and surrounded yourself with hand-picked loyalists.

01:47You have fired a number of our most accomplished generals and admirals

01:51with no explanation, no replacement.

01:54Your chief of staff, several top policy advisors,

01:56and chief spokesmen have all either resigned or been fired.

02:01This is a legitimate problem for our national defense.

02:05Much of the Pentagon seems to have been paralyzed by infighting

02:08and stripped of expert staff at a time

02:11when we need stability and professionalism.

02:15Mr. Secretary, you must address this

02:17so the rest of the Department can be laser-focused on their missions.

02:21I'm also concerned about your forays into diplomacy.

02:25The Secretary must be a capable statesman,

02:28especially in this dangerous global environment.

02:31During your first official trip to Europe,

02:33you made unfortunate mistakes,

02:36including by accidentally conceding America's negotiating leverage to Russia

02:42when you announced, quote,

02:44we must start by recognizing that returning to Ukraine's 20,014 borders

02:49is an unrealistic objector, end quote.

02:53The United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine

02:57is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement.

03:00The State Department walked back to your comments,

03:02but I worry that they cause us lasting credibility

03:05during peace negotiations and with our European allies.

03:10And, Mr. Secretary, I hope you've learned from these episodes.

03:15The key to our long-run success against China, Russia, and Iran

03:18and others depend on our ability to equip our forces

03:22with the ships, aircraft, and weapons needed to effectively deter them

03:26or, if necessary, defeat them.

03:29Mr. Secretary, you've said that readiness is your top priority.

03:33But I'm concerned by a number of actions you have taken

03:36that seem to distract from readiness.

03:39For example, you're in the process of firing 8% of the defense workforce

03:43or 75,000 employees.

03:46And you recently gutted the Office of the Director of Operational Tests and Evaluation,

03:51which is responsible for testing new weapons and platforms for warfighters.

03:56You have argued that these cuts were needed to eliminate wasteful spending,

03:59but you have simultaneously pledged hundreds of millions of dollars

04:03to convert a second-hand Qatari jet to be Air Force One.

04:08These decisions do not seem to align with readiness.

04:13Similarly, over the past two weeks,

04:15you have ordered 4,700 National Guard troops and Marines

04:18into Los Angeles against the will of the governor and mayor.

04:22These forces are in addition to the 13,000 troops you have deployed to the southern border

04:27and separate from the 20,000 National Guard troops requested by DHS

04:33to help ICE conduct, quote,

04:36interior immigration efforts.

04:39As a consequence, military units have to cancel their National Training Center rotations

04:45and waste invariable hours and resources performing DHS activities

04:50unrelated to their warfighting missions.

04:53I cannot imagine the faster way to erode military readiness

04:56and distract from our ability to deter China, Russia, and Iran.

05:00You also claim that merit is the only measure of performance under your leadership.

05:05That is a worthy principle.

05:07However, you refuse to explain you fired many of our most senior military officers,

05:12including the Chief of Naval Operations and the Commander of Cyber Command.

05:16All these positions remain unfilled, which weakens our military.

05:21As importantly, these officers were fired without any justification,

05:26indeed, without considering merit,

05:28which creates the worst possible outcome for a military force.

05:31I fear, throughout the ranks, that one should not speak up,

05:36should not refuse an illegal order,

05:39and should not call out abuse, no question, decisions.

05:42I fear that last week's disturbing display of partisanship

05:45at President Trump's event at Fort Bragg is an example of this.

05:50Mr. Secretary, I hope you understand the grave risks of politicizing the military

05:54and that you will commit to preventing it.

05:57Finally, you have pledged to be transparent as Secretary of Defense.

06:01Yet, to date, you have not held a single press conference at the Pentagon.

06:06Instead, you have evicted news outlets from the building,

06:09overwhelmingly restricted press access,

06:12and searched for leaks within your own staff,

06:15even threatening general officers with polygraph tests.

06:19This is not transparency,

06:21and it is a disservice to the American people

06:23who deserve to know what their military is doing.

06:27Ultimately, Mr. Secretary, this is a dangerous moment,

06:30and you must better demonstrate leadership, expertise, and competence atop the Pentagon.

06:35You are the ninth Secretary of Defense I have overseen as a member of this committee.

06:40In fact, this is the 26th time I have questioned the Secretary of Defense

06:44during their annual posture hearing.

06:46I have disagreed with each and every one of them on issues of policy and strategy,

06:52some more frequently than others,

06:54but I've always been able to work with them openly and earnestly

06:57because we shared a common agreement

06:59that our national defense supersedes partisanship.

07:02It's disappointing so far

07:06that we have not been able to establish such a relationship

07:10with this committee and with your department.

07:15Your candid and honest testimony today

07:17can go a long way toward making that possible,

07:20and I hope we can make that progress.

07:22Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

07:23Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

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