WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), the Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, led SASC Democrats in a hearing to examine Mr. Pete Hegseth’s nomination to be Secretary of Defense. Following the hearing, Senator Reed issued the following statement:

“I went into today’s hearing with deep concerns about Mr. Hegseth’s qualifications to be Secretary of Defense, and my fears were confirmed. He lacks the requisite character, competence, and commitment to do this job. Indeed, he is the least qualified nominee for Secretary of Defense in modern history. 

“In addition to his own alarming statements, there are simply too many disturbing reports about Mr. Hegseth to ignore. A variety of sources accuse him of disregarding the laws of war, financial mismanagement, racist and sexist remarks, alcohol abuse, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and other troubling issues. 

“If a servicemember had the same record of misconduct, they would be disqualified from holding any leadership position in the military, much less being confirmed as the Secretary of Defense.

“Mr. Hegseth dodged and deferred questions about his conduct. He instead focused on complaining and calling our military weak and too “politically correct.” I am concerned that confirming Mr. Hegseth would send a message to our troops that they will be evaluated on political standards rather than merits, and that he will inject politics into a nonpartisan organization.

“Further, Mr. Hegseth failed to convince us that he is capable of running any organization remotely as complex as the Department of Defense. He financially mismanaged two veterans' organizations and created a workplace culture of misconduct, including several incidents of public intoxication. This is unacceptable behavior for a Secretary of Defense nominee.

“Further, he defended his recent statement that: “I’m straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles.” 

“Finally, I am disappointed by the investigative process for Mr. Hegseth. The point of a thorough FBI background check is to confirm that there is no derogatory information that would compromise a nominee’s ability to do their job.

“The FBI process designed by the Trump Transition Team for Mr. Hegseth has been woefully inadequate. Investigators neglected to contact critical witnesses and whistleblowers, and the final report has not been shared with other members of the committee. 

“I was also disappointed that the committee could not have a second round of questioning with Mr. Hegseth. There are important questions that remain unanswered, and I will continue to seek them.

“Today’s hearing has adjourned, but I believe the jury is still out. I encourage my Republican colleagues to carefully examine the facts.”