U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) had a chance to question President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, during a Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday.
“We’re in trouble. Our whole country is in trouble,” Tuberville said. “Thank God President Trump got elected November the fifth. We couldn’t kept down the same path. We could not happen…I met with a couple of generals this summer, ‘Coach, we’re spending more money on transgender restrooms than we are coverings for $100 million airplanes.’ That’s not acceptable. We can’t do that… We’ve lost all sight of what we’re doing in our military. Lost all sight. It starts with leadership, and it starts with recruiting.”
Tuberville’s questioned the former host for Fox News and Bronze Star recipient about how get rid of the “woke” policies in the Pentagon that he believes is hurting military recruitment.
“How are we going to eliminate this, Mr. Hegseth?” Tuberville asked. “How are we going to get this back on track?”
“I think it comes down to leadership, clear leadership, from President Trump, through me, should I be not should I be nominated,” Hegseth responded. “And that’s what soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and guardians see, is clear leadership. It says, ‘This is what we believe. This is the commission we’re going to give you. Here’s the equipment we’re going to give you, and here’s how we’re going to support you. Because the military on a lot of levels, senator has been for generations a family business.”
Hegseth believes the Pentagon will be more successful as recruitment once these changes are made.
“You have to rip, root and branch, the politics and divisive policies out of these institutions and then focus them on creating and preparing actual future military leadership,” he added.
Tuberville, who has been openly supportive of the nomination since it was announced by Trump, told reporters after the hearing that Hegseth did a great job.
“He passed the hearing with flying color,” Tuberville said. “They tried to rattle him. Obviously that’s what their game plan was. They brought out all these anonymous allegations. He had an answer for every one of them. He’s very truthful…a perfect gentleman and he’s going to make a great Secretary of Defense.”
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on X @Yaffee
