During defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth’s confirmation hearing on Tuesday, Republican lawmakers were so focused on three specific letters — DEI — that they forgot to correctly spell the word “military” on one of their visual aids.
An AP photographer snapped a photo of a board sitting just behind Republican Senator Eric Schmitt and Republican Senator Ted Budd with the title “DEI in our Miltary.”
That’s right, “Miltary,” not “Military.”
The oversight was likely just a lack of quality control on the part of a senatorial staffer and hardly the most important issue of the hearing, which saw Democrats and Republicans in a tense back and forth over Hegseth’s qualifications, values, and the various allegations surrounding his behavior.
During the hearing, Schmitt complained about DEI initiatives in the military, which he called “race essentialism,” — essentially arguing that the military was more concerned about a member’s race than their aptitude for service.
“DEI is not about giving everybody opportunity,” Schmitt said. “It is rooted in cultural Marxism, the idea that gets the room, any room with oppressor versus oppressed. It’s race essentialism, and it is poison.”
Hegseth agreed with Schmitt’s take.
“You have to tear out DEI and CRT initiatives root and branch from institutions,” Hegseth said. “Then you have to put in Army, Navy, and Air Force secretaries and others, civilian positions, at the helm who are committed to the same priorities that the president of the United States is, and if confirmed, the secretary of defense will be. Send a clear message that this is not a time for equity.”
CRT — Critical Race Theory — is an academic lens used for examining society, and isn’t typically something that would be implemented in military education.
Schmitt agreed nonetheless, saying he backed Hegseth’s opinion” 100 percent.”
The Independent has requested comment from Schmitt’s office.
Democrats pointed out that Hegseth had previously complained about the military allegedly lowering its standards to accommodate women, and argued that by confirming him to Secretary of Defense they would essentially be lowering the bar for the position.
“Do you think that the way to raise the minimum standards of the people who serve us is to lower the standards of the Secretary of Defense?” Senator Gary Peters asked Hegseth after asking Hegseth what the highest number of people he’d ever managed was.
Hegseth said the highest number of people he’d ever been in charge of was a few hundred while he served as a company commander in the military. As Secretary of State, he would oversee the more than 2.86 million active duty military members, and his decisions could affect not only every American but people across the globe.
During the hearing, he also complained about an initiative undertaken by the Biden administration to root out extremism in the military.
“Things like focusing on extremism, senator, have created a climate inside our military that feels political when it hasn’t ever been political,” Hegseth said. “Those are the types of things that are going to change.”
He cited a report that found around 100 military members were identified as extremists and said he considered that a small number.
In addition to Hegseth’s views on the military, the nominee was also grilled on his personal values and behavior.
Republican Senator Kevin Cramer asked Hegseth about one of his tattoos — a Jerusalem Cross, a symbol associated with the Kingdom of Jerusalem during the Crusades — but did not ask Hegseth about his Deus Vult tattoo, which got him flagged as an “insider threat” due to its potential connection to white nationalist groups while he was serving in the National Guard, according to the Associated Press. Deus Vult — Latin for “God wills it” — is also often associated with both the Crusades and white nationalists.
Hegseth has previously written off questions about his tattoos as unfair targeting of Christians.
Senator Jack Reed called Hegseth’s qualifications into question, citing his alleged conduct issues.
“Mr. Hegseth, I do not believe that you are qualified to meet the overwhelming demands of this job,” he said, adding, “Indeed, the totality of your own writings and alleged conduct would disqualify any servicemember from holding any leadership position in the military, much less being confirmed as the Secretary of Defense.”
Hegseth insisted that the allegations of his drunkenness at work and of a sexual assault were false, anonymous reports and that he’d been cleared of wrongdoing.
“I have failed in things in my life, and thankfully I’m redeemed by my lord and savior Jesus,” Hegseth said.
