'Did One Person Get Held Accountable?': Markwayne Mullin Fires Back At Dems During Hegseth Hearing

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At today's Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) tore into his Democratic colleagues.

Transcript

00:00Senator Mullen.

00:01Talking about accountability, I wonder who was held accountable for the disastrous withdrawal out of Afghanistan,

00:06where 13 soldiers died and we left thousands of Americans behind underneath Secretary Austin's lead.

00:14Did one person get held accountable during that time?

00:21I don't know of anybody that got held accountable for Afghanistan withdrawal.

00:25But let's talk about that.

00:27Let's talk about that.

00:28Let's talk about the turmoil to which are my colleagues on the other side of the dais wants to talk about.

00:34Let's talk about that turmoil.

00:34Underneath Secretary Austin, who was a general, by the way, you had the lowest morale measured in our military history.

00:43You had retention, absolutely disastrous.

00:48You had recruitments that wasn't even meeting lowered standards that you guys lowered.

00:53But let me see the contrast now.

00:56We have the highest morale that's been measured in decades in the military.

01:00We have recruiting numbers that are exceeding expectations that we've had.

01:05We have our enemies that fear us once again and our allies that love us because they can trust us.

01:11But that's not the narrative, Secretary Hicks, that our Democrat colleagues want to draw.

01:17But how short-minded is your memory?

01:21It was just a few months ago that you were supporting a commander-in-chief that you guys were covering up for or flat-out lying about.

01:30Who was in charge?

01:32And that was a commander-in-chief.

01:33Oh, but let's not talk about that.

01:37Instead, let's just point fingers at something that fits the narrative.

01:40You want to talk about war powers or the fact that during our reposturing in the Middle East against Iran,

01:49which would have never taken place if our colleagues on the other side would have held the administration accountable

01:55while they were giving billions of dollars back to Iran and knowing good and well during the briefings

02:01that they were actually trying to develop a nuclear weapon.

02:03But we turned a blind eye to that.

02:04And now the mess that was created by the Biden administration, this administration,

02:08or the Trump administration, and the leadership of Secretary Hicks is simply trying to clean up.

02:12But forget about the past.

02:15Let's talk about this.

02:17Oh, let's talk about reposturing, by the way.

02:21And wasn't it Secretary of the Navy, Del Toro, that came to us and said that he was fighting the largest naval battle since World War II?

02:34Did anybody in this daisth authorize that?

02:37That was his words.

02:38He sat right there where Secretary Hickseth was, and I laughed.

02:41And I said, I didn't think the Houthis had a navy, so why are we fighting a naval battle there?

02:48And did you guys complain about it?

02:50Did you all say one thing about it?

02:52Nope.

02:53We just sat there.

02:55Because, hey, it didn't fit your narrative, but this one does.

02:58And anyone who wanted to start talking about the National Guard and the Marines didn't, General Eisenhower,

03:07or I'm sorry, President Eisenhower deployed troops or federalized troops in Arkansas in 1957

03:13and also deployed the 101st Airborne because the governor then refused to protect civil rights and personal property?

03:23Yep.

03:23What about President Kennedy in 62 and 63 that also did it because Mississippi and Alabama refused to do the same thing?

03:33And so since the governor at that time refused to protect citizens and the property, he federalized the National Guard.

03:41Oh, let's think about 65, too, because LBJ did the exact same thing.

03:45But that's history.

03:48But yet it's extremely important to the context of what you guys are claiming to be done here.

03:56But that doesn't fit the narrative that you guys want to put out there.

04:01History is history.

04:03Look back at it if you want to or not.

04:06But keep in mind, every time you're pointing fingers here, you've got three fingers pointing back at the shoe.

04:09Because a previous administration, you guys 100% turned a blind eye to and did nothing to hold them accountable.

04:17Nothing.

04:18So don't sit up here on the dais and pretend like you're trying to hold administration accountable now because you didn't for four years.

04:25You literally covered up for a commander in chief that was absent.

04:30Absent minded and absent leadership.

04:33And you guys did absolutely nothing.

04:35Even your left-leaning media is saying it was the worst cover-up possibly in political history.

04:45Yet nothing from you guys.

04:48You all should be ashamed of yourself.

04:50Literally, you should be ashamed of yourself.

04:53I yield back.

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