Quotes
We will do this in three ways — by restoring the warrior ethos, rebuilding our military, and reestablishing deterrence,
the 44-year-old said in a release reminiscent of the opening statement at his confirmation hearing We will reestablish deterrence by defending our homeland — on the ground and in the sky,
Hegseth said before calling out China and its “aggression in the Indo-Pacific.” We are American warriors. We will defend our country. Our standards will be high, uncompromising, and clear. The strength of our military is our unity and our shared purpose,
All of this will be done with a focus on lethality, meritocracy, accountability, standards, and readiness,
Hegseth added in his message to staff We will stand by our allies — and our enemies are on notice,
Hegseth added, even as Trump has issued threats to NATO allies Canada and Denmark over tariffs and control of the arctic Danish territory of Greenland The restoration of ‘warrior culture’ will not come from trading one set of culture warriors for another,
McConnell said in a statement after the vote Pete Hegseth will be our next secretary of defense. This is a great day for America and our military. Congrats @PeteHegseth."
Donald Trump Jr. wrote in an X post on Friday Pete Hegseth isn't going to shake up the Pentagon's bureaucracy – it's going to crush him. Because it's not just his lack of experience. The little experience he does have is riddled with serious issues of mismanagement."
Democratic Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona said ahead of the vote In his testimony before the Committee, Mr. Hegseth provided no substantial observations on how to defend Taiwan or the Philippines against a Chinese attack, or even whether he believes the United States should do so. He failed, for that matter, to articulate in any detail a strategic vision for dealing with the gravest long-term threat emanating from the PRC."
Republican Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said in a Friday statement Although an allegation was made, it was fully investigated and Pete was cleared. This unfortunate episode should have zero impact on the confirmation process."
His lawyer previously told Newsweek This means reviving our defense industrial base, reforming our acquisition process, passing a financial audit, and rapidly fielding emerging technologies."
Regarding rebuilding the military, which is currently about 1.3 million active-duty service members, Hegseth said The first thing that goes through my head are the guys that I served with on the battlefield, the men and women who I locked shields with, who put my life on the line with, who never get the spotlight, who never had the cameras, who people don't know what they did in dark and dangerous places,
All praise and glory to God. His will be done and we're grateful to be here,
an ecstatic Hegseth said after taking the oath of office, surrounded by his wife Jenny and children In public comments and testimony before the Armed Services Committee, Mr. Hegseth did not reckon with this reality.
In a statement, McConnell wrote We look forward to having the backs of our troops in executing peace through strength, in putting America first and improving our military.
I didn't know that, I just know that we won.
When asked about McConnell's 'no' vote, which Trump had jokingly predicted earlier in the day, the president responded If we need to fight them, we are going to bring overwhelming and decisive force to destroy the enemy and to bring our boys home.
There was so many folks on this inside and allies on the outside who stood by us
The yeas are 50 and the nays are 50. The Senate being equally divided, the vice president votes in the affirmative and the nomination is confirmed,
Advancing diversity, equity and inclusion is more than a goal – it's our duty and a critical element of our ESG strategy. This recognition only encourages us to keep pushing to create generational change."
Here is what Shanda Hinton, Raytheon Technologies' chief diversity officer, had to say in 2023
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