By The Federalist (Politics) | Created at 2025-01-24 18:06:03 | Updated at 2025-01-24 23:51:25
5 hours ago
Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine are hinging their opposition to the confirmation of President Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, on their alleged concern that he is not fit to handle the pressures of the Pentagon job.
Their paragraphs-long attempts to justify why they are going against the will of their GOP voters, however, pale in the face of their voting records for a cabinet member who abandoned his post twice without notifying Congress.
Murkowski announced Thursday on X that she “cannot in good conscience support [Hegseth’s] nomination for Secretary of Defense” because she believes he is ill-equipped to undertake the “immense responsibility.” She also bought into the Democrat and corporate media-led smear campaign to defame Hegseth’s name, claiming that the allegations published on the front pages of propaganda outlets are “unbecoming of someone who would lead our armed forces.”
“Above all, I believe that character is the defining trait required of the Secretary of Defense, and must be prioritized without compromise. The leader of the Department of Defense must demonstrate and model the standards of behavior and character we expect of all servicemembers, and Mr. Hegseth’s nomination to the role poses significant concerns that I cannot overlook. Given the global security environment we’re operating in, it is critical that we confirm a Secretary of Defense, however, I regret that I am unable to support Mr. Hegseth,” she wrote.
Collins similarly declined to vote in favor of Hegseth’s confirmation because she claimed to be “concerned that he does not have the experience and perspective necessary to succeed in the job.”
She acknowledged in her post on X that the nation’s military is in dire straits thanks to “ineffective leadership by the Biden Administration” but claimed Hegseth “does not have the management experience and background that he will need in order to tackle these difficulties.”
After careful consideration, I have decided to vote against Pete Hegseth’s nomination for Secretary of Defense. While I appreciate his courageous military service and his ongoing commitment to our servicemembers and their families, I am concerned that he does not have the…
Both Murkowski and Collins helped Senate Democrats confirm President Joe Biden’s Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, without blinking an eye.
The retired general was not handed the job because of his adept ability to lead and handle, in Murkowski’s words, the “immense responsibility” of running the Department of Defense. Instead, Biden chose Austin because he would fulfill Democrats’ desire that “every member of the armed forces is treated with dignity and respect, including Black, Latino, Asian American, Native American, women, and LGBTQ service members.”
Once in office, Austin oversaw the Biden administration’s penchant for bumbling into global crises with the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal and U.S. involvement in the Russia-Ukraine war. He spent more time fighting for taxpayer-funded abortions, forced Covid jabs, and “racial equity” for service members than he did actually fortifying the military readiness he claimed pro-life Republicans such as Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., threatened.
Where were the GOP senators’ concerns about national security and the character of cabinet members they helped install Austin?
If Murkowski and Collins were actually worried about the dire state of the U.S. military, they would welcome a mover and shaker like Hegseth with open arms. Instead, they have are hiding their willingness to side with Democrats behind bad faith smears.
Hegseth needs all but three GOP senators’ support to clench confirmation. Sens. Joni Ernst of Iowa and Todd Young of Indiana toyed with tanking Hegseth but were deterred by the promise of primary challenges.
Murkowski especially knows the consequences she could face for contradicting the voters who elected her to office. Yet, she feels protected enough by her political allies’ ranked choice voting shenanigans to continue her crusade against Trump and his picks.
Murkowski and Collins can pretend all they want that their opposition to Hegseth is moral and just. In reality, their failure to vote for Hegseth is a partisan scheme that, if their Republican voters have anything to say about it, will not be forgotten easily.
Jordan Boyd is a staff writer at The Federalist and producer of The Federalist Radio Hour. Her work has also been featured in The Daily Wire, Fox News, and RealClearPolitics. Jordan graduated from Baylor University where she majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow her on X @jordanboydtx.
