Pete Hegseth, the nation’s new defense secretary, comes into the job with a tremendous amount of baggage.
Reports of excessive drinking and womanizing, which he acknowledged, and allegations of sexual abuse, which he denied, are going to leave many questioning how he has the character for such an important job.
But perhaps the bigger question than his moral fitness are his qualifications for the huge responsibility which he has been handed. A military veteran best known as a friendly Fox News host to Donald Trump, what in his background would make anyone think — much less 50 U.S. senators, including Mississippi’s Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith — think that Hegseth is up to running a government agency that includes nearly 2.1 million service members, about 780,000 civilians and a budget of $850 billion?
The U.S. Defense Department is the equivalent of a huge global corporation. Putting Hegseth in charge of it is like putting a store manager at Walmart in charge of the world’s largest company. What corporate board would consider such a ridiculous move?
And yet, by a strict party-line vote, the Senate Armed Services Committee chaired by Wicker recommended Hegseth’s confirmation. The full Senate followed suit, but it took Vice President JD Vance’s tie-breaking vote to get Hegseth over the finish line, since three Republicans, including former Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, could not hold their nose and cover their eyes and vote for Trump’s nominee.
Wicker, who should have known better, sadly defended Hegseth, caving once again to the pressure of Trump and the MAGA movement, of which Mississippi’s senior senator is obviously scared. Why should that be so?
Wicker is 73 years old. He will be 79 before he comes up for reelection again. Does he plan to be one of these hangers-on, staying in the Senate until he is pushed out by infirmities, and thus not want to risk a serious primary challenge in 2030?
If, though, Wicker anticipates this six-year term will be his last, why did he not communicate to Trump that the president needed to give the Senate a more serious, more qualified, less controversial nominee to consider? The capitulation from Wicker is both puzzling and disappointing.
Wicker’s wagon is now hitched to Hegseth. If the new defense secretary proves to be over his head, which is likely, or does something dumb, which is possible, it won’t be just Trump who will be mocked for picking him. Wicker will be as well for clearing the way for Hegseth’s confirmation.
Why Wicker, who has usually shown more sense and more backbone than that, did not do so this time is cause for worry, not just about him but about Congress on the whole. If Trump’s ascendancy and his command over the GOP’s ultraconservative base have caused even formerly sensible senators to do the insane, what craziness might come from those representatives who have much less principle and reason?
It is a scary thought to consider.
