# Pete Hegseth Confirmation hearing **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 14, 2025, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-hegseth-confirmation-hearing/1012964 "2025-01-14T15:05:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2025, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-hegseth-confirmation-hearing/1012964/61 "2025-01-15T00:54:00Z")
Trumpists say he did great! Greenland will be invaded before August. ---
**Author:** ![TeroSunbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terosunbear/32/14748_2.png) [@TeroSunbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeroSunbear)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2025, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-hegseth-confirmation-hearing/1012964/62 "2025-01-15T01:19:35Z")
Trump would be hiring someone to invade Greenland. Who would have no idea how to invade Greenland. Or Panama. But he would bring home a few walrus tusk souvenirs. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2025, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-hegseth-confirmation-hearing/1012964/63 "2025-01-15T01:27:41Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > Does Cultural Marxism mean anything other than Jewish? I think it also means “n\_\_\_\_\_”. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2025, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-hegseth-confirmation-hearing/1012964/64 "2025-01-15T01:33:21Z")
I watched some of the clips. What an evasive smarmy son of a bitch. Horrible. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2025, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-hegseth-confirmation-hearing/1012964/65 "2025-01-15T02:21:52Z")
I just came here to say the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2025, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-hegseth-confirmation-hearing/1012964/66 "2025-01-15T02:22:42Z")
If that phrase was used in a drinking game, there’d be a lot of people with alcoholic poisoning. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2025, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-hegseth-confirmation-hearing/1012964/67 "2025-01-15T02:36:59Z")
Man, this is just the beginning of what is in store. I don’t have the stomach to pay attention. Too many pleasurable things to do - while I still can. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2025, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-hegseth-confirmation-hearing/1012964/68 "2025-01-15T02:42:42Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > Sheehy: Okay, this time, I’m just going to leave the softballs sitting here. Just kick them." > > Hegs: Still misses one. > > They were all about the most simple aspects of the military. “What size round does an M-3 fire?” “How many push-ups can you do?” That likely pre-arranged last question is a marker of how far the United States is going to descend next week: [“I did five sets of 47 this morning,”](https://www.facebook.com/reel/2447179042280643) P.S… Am I playing their game by repeating the 47 pushup thing, given that it is such a pure own the libs move? It is impossible to know what to emphasize or ignore. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2025, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-hegseth-confirmation-hearing/1012964/69 "2025-01-15T02:43:40Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > Yep. And I’m pretty sure he’s the worst of a bad lot. Pete wasn’t the worst of a bad lot. Ol’ Petey was merely a salvo to see how much farther Trump can go, and he passed with flying colors. The temperature on the cooking pot went up a couple of degrees, and the lobsters took it, so you can fully expect the temperature to keep rising. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2025, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-hegseth-confirmation-hearing/1012964/70 "2025-01-15T03:12:39Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Yup. Trump makes him look like a boy scout. Hey, he was on deployment with the National Guard so there is a smidge, a tiny inkling that he is better than Trump. He actually cared about Americans for at least however long it took him to sign the paperwork. People falling all over him to thank him for his service tho. You can serve in the military and be an absolute piece of shit. Having done it doesn’t automatically give you any credence as a good person. I’m sure tons of people who have served can tell you about the nutjobs they served with. I’d be willing to bet that for some they got worse as their careers went on. ---
**Author:** ![TeroSunbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terosunbear/32/14748_2.png) [@TeroSunbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeroSunbear)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2025, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-hegseth-confirmation-hearing/1012964/71 "2025-01-15T12:13:23Z")
I think Trump wants Hegseth to run the millitary so that the army can go door to door, to factories and fields, and demand “where are ze papers?” and then truck them all to Mexico. More of them set up at border to shoot anyone trying to come back. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2025, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-hegseth-confirmation-hearing/1012964/72 "2025-01-15T13:07:12Z")
> [@TeroSunbear](#): > > I think Trump wants Hegseth to run the millitary so that the army can go door to door, to factories and fields, and demand “where are ze papers?” and then truck them all to Mexico. More of them set up at border to shoot anyone trying to come back Somewhere, I saw someone say that Hegs knew the fix was in. In thinking about this overnight, I think that’s true. He had no problem lying about the drinking and sexual assault, so why not give the easy, obvious lie to all the questions about obeying illegal orders? Everyone knew the obvious correct answer was, “No, I won’t follow illegal orders!”, even if you add a caveat that “Of course, Trump will never give such an order!” afterwards. So why not just do that? Hell, one of the Democrats even pointed out during his questioning that Hegs wasn’t under oath here. So there’s literally no downside to lying. Congress and the courts can’t hold him accountable, and we know Trump won’t hold him accountable. So why not lie? “The Cruelty is the point”. He wants us to know he’s playing with us, and that he absolutely will carry out any order he’s given, and that since the fix is in, there’s nothing we can do to stop him. He’s about to be given the power to hurt every kind of person he personally hates, and he’s going to use it. ---
**Author:** ![carlb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carlb/32/5930_2.png) [@carlb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlb)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2025, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-hegseth-confirmation-hearing/1012964/73 "2025-01-15T13:28:09Z")
I only caught some of the hearing, through closed-captioning, so maybe I missed something like this, but I would have liked whoever the lead-off Dem Senator was to begin with: What is the largest organization you’ve ever run? What was the largest budget you’ve ever had to supervise? Have you ever been in charge of evaluating multi-billion dollar contract bids? Have you ever supervised the execution of multi-billion dollar contracts? Have you ever led an organization that needed to work closely with international partners, over whom you had no direct authority? He’d weasel, but I’d try to keep them to simple yes/no questions. Then I’d end with something like: Mr. Hegseth, what is there about your background and experience that makes you think you are in any way qualified to lead the Department of Defense? For all of the terrible things about Hegseth’s character, a hearing like this shouldn’t even need to touch on the loathsome things he’s said and done. He is, quite simply, completely and wholly unqualified for the job. But, alas, in our current political climate that sees expertise as just more evidence of deep-state shenanigans, this is what we get. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2025, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-hegseth-confirmation-hearing/1012964/74 "2025-01-15T13:57:59Z")
Kinda related to my thread re: the press and Trump’s blathering, today’s Chicago Trib had an article on the hrg. It basically reported R and D sound bites, with no analysis. Just struck me how useless such reporting was in assisting an interested reader in reaching an informed opinion. I would prefer at least some brief context and presentation of the opposing analyses: Rs called it a witchhunt, and Ds called him evasive. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2025, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-hegseth-confirmation-hearing/1012964/75 "2025-01-15T14:33:11Z")
That was brought up a few times, with his charities that he drove into the ground. They made the point that he screwed up an organization with maybe 50 employees and a budget of a few million, and now he thinks he can transform the DoD. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2025, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-hegseth-confirmation-hearing/1012964/76 "2025-01-15T15:54:32Z")
The fact that he thinks he’s qualified disqualifies him in my mind. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2025, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-hegseth-confirmation-hearing/1012964/77 "2025-01-15T19:01:50Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Kinda related to my thread re: the press and Trump’s blathering, today’s Chicago Trib had an article on the hrg. It basically reported R and D sound bites, with no analysis. Just struck me how useless such reporting was in assisting an interested reader in reaching an informed opinion. I would prefer at least some brief context and presentation of the opposing analyses: Rs called it a witchhunt, and Ds called him evasive. Desi Lydic would disagree with you: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/QoOrGgn9Nw8/maxresdefault.jpg "Pete Hegseth Grilled on Cheating, Corruption, & Women in Combat in Senate Hearing | The Daily Show") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoOrGgn9Nw8&t=564s) “This is like going through your dad’s browser history. He’s still going to be your dad, but now there’s a bunch of stuff you can’t unsee.” At some point, following these hearings is like self-flagellation. They’re all going to be confirmed—even, I fear, RFK, Jr—regardless of how much evidence there is of incompetence, unfitness for office, criminality, obvious mental defects and personality disorders, et cetera, because Republicans will vote for them down party line, even Susan Collins no matter how ‘disappointed’ she is. Welcome to MAGA world. Welcome to the party. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2025, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-hegseth-confirmation-hearing/1012964/78 "2025-01-15T19:09:23Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > At some point, following these hearings is like self-flagellation. Yeah - that’s the way I feel. I’m just gonna stay hunkered down, with my antennae up for any sign that something significant and positive - or bad enough that I NEED to take specific action - occurs. ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2025, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-hegseth-confirmation-hearing/1012964/79 "2025-01-15T19:10:20Z")
I think you’re not going to have too long to wait. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2025, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-hegseth-confirmation-hearing/1012964/80 "2025-01-15T19:11:10Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > At some point, following these hearings is like self-flagellation. They’re all going to be confirmed—even, I fear, RFK, Jr—regardless of how much evidence there is of incompetence, unfitness for office, criminality, obvious mental defects and personality disorders, et cetera, Yes, there is an element of that, but sometimes you have to bear down, and be a witness to history. Sometimes it’s not enough to hear about how bad something was, you need to see it for yourself. After watching Hegseth yesterday, I don’t think there’s anything he will do that will surprise me. He’s fully on board with Trump, and will use every scrap of power he gets to push the full MAGA agenda. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-hegseth-confirmation-hearing/1012964.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-hegseth-confirmation-hearing/1012964.md?page=5)