Dems Likely to Delay Hegseth Confirmation as Long as Possible

If you watched any of Pete Hegseth’s confirmation hearings, you already know that Democrats are not going to support him as the nominee for Secretary of Defense.

It does appear that Hegseth has the numbers to get through, but that will not be before Democrats use procedural rules to delay this as long as possible.

The Problems with Pete

I know Hegseth has immense support in the MAGA world, but I am still not convinced he is qualified for this position, and little happened during his confirmation hearings to change my mind.

Hegseth’s reputation as someone who continues to party very hard is concerning to me when you consider he is the man charged with overseeing our entire military and a $1 trillion budget.

He retired as a major, so he never would have been in charge of more than about 200 troops, but he will now be charged with overseeing nearly three million all-in.

In his private life, he served as the executive director for Vets for Freedom (VFF), as well as serving as president of Concerned Veterans for America. He was forced to step down from both organizations amid allegations, of among other charges, financial mismanagement, yet now we are going to be putting him in charge of a nearly $1 trillion budget? It just does not make sense to me.

Contentious Confirmation Hearings

Rather than vetting Hegseth, all the GOP did was try to defend him against attacks by Democrats.

For instance, when Hegseth’s drinking reputation was discussed, Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) defended Hegseth by comparing him to senators showing up for late-night voting sessions drunk, stating, “Don’t tell me you haven’t seen it, because I know you have.”

I hate to break it to Mullin, but hitting a “yes” or “nay” button is quite different from commanding troops in combat situations and being in control of nearly $1 billion. And I should note, not a single Republican senator asked a question in regard to Hegseth’s alleged financial mismanagement of his charities, nor did anyone address the bookkeeping issues we knew exist at the Pentagon.

For those about to attack me as insulting Hegseth’s service to this country, I have never belittled his time in the Army. He was clearly a good warrior and an exceptional battleground leader, if we are to believe his fitness reports, but this would be like taking an assistant manager at a restaurant and promoting them to the CEO of the entire corporation.

Expect Delays

Democrats will not be able to stop the Hegseth nomination of the GOP all votes to confirm him (they actually have two votes to spare). What they can do, however, is delay this nomination. Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) fully expects Dems to hold off as long as possible, stating, “I expect our Democratic friends will delay it to the extent to which they are free to do under the rules. Wednesday, Thursday perhaps. This is not something that needs to drag out. He’s got the votes.”

SASC Ranking Member Jack Reed (D-RI) backed that up, stating, “We’ve made it clear we feel that there’s more information that should be provided, and not just for our benefit, but for our Republican colleagues too.”

Breitbart characterized Hegseth’s confirmation performance as “strong,” but I disagree completely. I actually thought it was embarrassing how Republicans gushed over him without actually asking him meaningful questions to quell the fears people have about this nomination.

I very much went into Hegseth’s confirmation with an open mind, hoping to be convinced that he could do this job. I have the same questions today that I had before the hearings about whether he is qualified. I truly hope I am wrong, and he does an amazing job, but I still cannot put my stamp of approval on this nomination because our Republican senators let us down in terms of proving to the American people that Trump made the right call here.