Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to run the Department of Defense, came a lot out of left field when Trump named him last month. Hegseth served overseas in the Minnesota National Guard, ran two veterans charity organizations before being either made redundant or outright fired, and was most prominently a weekend co-host of Fox & Friends. Add to that some rather concerning personal baggage, and very little of this screams “qualified.” Some Republican senators agreed, to the point Hegseth’s nomination looked in doubt.
Toward the end of last week, though, threats of primaries began to pop up and now some senators are changing their tune. Put kindly, I would say that is an embarrassment. These senators’ concerns had been with the stability of the department and, most vitally, the safety of the armed forces. Now they’re worried about the ire of Trump. I’d say they owe it to the armed forces to stick to their guns. If Trump wants to shake up the Defense Department, that’s fine. There are plenty of less controversial, more qualified candidates out there. Some may even be in the Senate.