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Pete Hegseth’s fitness for the role of Secretary of Defense has been called into question, after the candidate seemingly forgot his child’s name during his Senate confirmation hearing.
For context, the hearings today saw the former Fox News presenter come under fire amid his bid for the high-ranking government role, with Democrats voicing deep concerns about his inexperience and past behavior, including allegations around his drunkenness, sexual assault of women, and past comments about women in the military. While the hours-long hearing was tense throughout, one eyebrow-raising moment occurred when Hegseth mentioned his family, including his father and children.
“Thank you to my father Brian, mother Penny” Hegseth said, “as well as our entire family including our seven wonderful kids.” From there, Hegseth listed off the names of his children, but appeared stumped when he landed on his son, Rex. The brief moment was met with a smattering of laughter in the room, but it wasn’t long before the gaffe did the rounds on social media, with many onlookers deeming it as evidence that Hegseth “is utterly unfit” for the role of Defense Secretary.
“If he can’t remember his kid’s name, how’s he supposed to remember national priorities?,” one user questioned on X, with another adding that they “never expected Trump to nominate bright people” for roles within his second administration. “Not a good sign publicly freezing under pressure,” another observer quipped, with a fourth declaring that Hegseth “just isn’t qualified.” This sentiment around Hegseth’s fitness for the role was also floated within the hearing itself, spearheaded by Rhode Island Senator, Jack Reed.
“Mr. Hegseth, I do not believe you’re qualified to meet the overwhelming demands of this job,” the Democratic politician said. Reed went on to cite the “concerning public reports” around Hegseth’s past, saying they “implicate you with disregarding the laws of war.” Reed also said that the reports connect Hegseth to racist and sexist remarks, financial mismanagement, alcohol abuse and sexual assault. The senator said reports on all of that conduct would “disqualify any service member from holding any leadership position.”
While president-elect Donald Trump’s broader cabinet picks will appear before committees for the rest of the week, Hegseth’s fitness for the role has been questioned ever since his nomination was announced in November. Since then, he has faced multiple allegations of sexual assault and misconduct, come under fire for his remarks about women in the military, and been scrutinised for his use of alcohol during his time at Fox News. Elsewhere, clips of Hegseth criticizing Trump have also resurfaced in recent months.
Perhaps the biggest bombshell ahead of Hegseth’s confirmation arrived last month, when The New York Times published a years-old letter addressed to him by his mother, in which she accused him of abusing, belittling and cheating on women. Penelope Hegseth later backtracked on the letter in defence of her son, but it was enough for rumors to emerge that Trump was considering replacing Hegseth with Ron DeSantis.
Since then, however, Trump has doubled-down on his support of Hegseth, who, if confirmed by the senate, will join a broader second term cabinet that also includes Linda Macmahon for the Department of Education, Kristi Noem as the Secretary of Homeland Security, and RFK Jr. as Health Secretary. Thankfully, however, there will be no role for Matt Gaetz, because we all saw how that played out.