Disorder ensued during Pete Hegseth’s initial remarks at his U.S. Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday, as protestors and dissenters, who had waited for hours to secure prized seats in the committee room, were forcibly removed following several disruptions.
The nominee for Secretary of Defense under President-elect Donald Trump commenced his introduction by addressing the reasons behind Trump’s unwavering confidence in his capability to lead the department, despite extensive negative media coverage regarding his purported issues with alcohol and relationships with women. Before he could complete his statement, at least three protestors were ejected from the audience. “You are a misogynist!” shouted an elderly man from the rear of the room while Hegseth attempted to speak over him. The omnidirectional microphones in the room picked up more of his outbursts, but by that time, the protestor had already been escorted out. Hegseth calmly took a sip of water and patiently awaited the opportunity to resume his opening remarks.
“The primary directive he provided me was to restore the warrior culture within the Department of Defense,” Hegseth stated. “He, like myself, desires a Pentagon that is intensely focused on lethality, meritocracy, combat readiness, and preparedness.” It was at this juncture that a second female protestor from the back of the room interrupted Hegseth, who remained composed and smiled at the senators as officers from the Dirksen Building worked to remove her from the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. A C-SPAN camera documented the turmoil as she was restrained with her arms behind her back and escorted out. Several audience members and a few press photographers stood to capture the scene. Unfortunately for the woman, her remarks directed at Hegseth were drowned out by the distance from the microphones.
Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) permitted the proceedings to continue after the removal of a woman and a man clad in a pink service member’s uniform from the room. Hegseth, making a third attempt to advocate for his confirmation, stated, “We will reestablish trust in our military,” while addressing the issues of recruitment, retention, and readiness crises within the armed forces. In response, a third protestor raised his voice more than the previous demonstrators, necessitating the intervention of multiple officers to escort him out. Following five minutes of statements punctuated by another five minutes of persistent disruptions, senators finally had the opportunity to question Hegseth regarding the controversies that have emerged since his nomination was announced in November.
Senator Wicker initiated the questioning by inquiring whether there was any truth to various mainstream media reports suggesting that Hegseth had developed a drinking problem after his military service. Hegseth characterized these reports as part of a “coordinated smear campaign orchestrated in the media against us,” asserting that “our leftwing media in America today sadly doesn’t care about the truth.” Senators are anticipated to vote on Hegseth’s confirmation by the end of the week, thereby providing President-elect Trump with a leader for his national security team prior to his inauguration.
