On Pete Hegseth

Alan Cai

January 24, 2025

Despite the multitude of sexual misconduct and excessive drinking allegations facing embattled Fox News host Pete Hegseth, the Army National Guard and Iraq War veteran was confirmed on a 50-50 vote in the United States Senate with the tie broken by Vice President JD Vance. Although Secretary of Defense appointees in the past have enjoyed widespread bipartisan support — the role being apolitical by nature, the questions surrounding Hegseth’s character and his military experience, or lack thereof at a high level, hindered his candidacy. In addition to all 47 Democratic senators, Republicans Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Susan Collins from Maine, and Lisa Murkowski from Alaska, joined the opposition in their dissent. Though Murkowski and Collins are longtime skeptics of Trump’s MAGA movement and were not expected to support the nominee fully, McConnell’s “no” came as somewhat of a surprise: a solemn message to the incoming president that though he had passed the torch to John Thune of South Dakota, his support is not unconditional.

There is absolutely no doubt that Hegseth’s personal misconduct concerns are a red flag and call the nomination into question, the lack of military experience should not be as much of a deal breaker as Hegseth’s opponents make it seem. The principal premise of the American armed forces doctrine is that armed forces ought to be controlled by their civilian masters. Under this principle, the Secretary of State (and the President by extension) is where the military chain of command reaches its civilian hands. In other words, the Secretary of Defense is intended to be a wholly civilian position, not a military one. In fact, notwithstanding the blatant logistical shortcomings, a president could reasonably appoint an individual with no military experience.

Needless to say, the American people (myself included) would be far more assured and confident if the military was run by an individual who already had a significant understanding of the Pentagon brass. However, such a requirement should not be the expectation.

Amid the Hegseth-confirmation turmoil, it is important to not lose sight of far larger risks Trump’s presidency poses. Trump is the first president in history to be elected even after denying the results of a previous election and staging an insurrection in an attempt to overturn it. Trump is unique in his disregard for American tradition and the Constitution itself (see Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order). These two issues alone set Trump apart from the long list of America’s heads of state. Trump understands this more than anyone and uses it to his advantage: to draw negative attention away from himself, he fills his inner circle with individuals more scandalous than himself to paint the false picture of a reasoned and sensible leader, when the reality is the opposite. Even electorally, this strategy works. In Arizona, Trump supported the campaign of Senatorial candidate Kari Lake, a far-right activist whom many voters likely felt was a far worse incarnation of Trump. As Trump appeared more tame and electable in comparison, voters were more willing to support him, resulting in the split tickets which ended with Trump’s election and Lake’s defeat.

While Secretary of Defense nominations are very pertinent, let’s keep our eyes on the bigger concerns at play.