At a recent speech at the Army War College, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, “We are laser-focused on our mission of warfighting.” However, he didn’t say which war he was talking about.
Lately, Hegseth has been spending a lot of time on things like library books, removing articles and pictures about Jackie Robinson and the Navajo Code Talkers from Defense Department websites, changing the names of military bases and Navy ships, and restoring monuments that honor people who fought against Americans. He even led a Christian prayer service at the Pentagon.
Hegseth doesn’t seem ashamed about focusing on these culture issues. In fact, he told Fox News last week that he’s been focused on “statues” and “paintings.” These things don’t help national security, but he is working on them anyway.
That’s not all. Last week, Hegseth shared a video on social media from a Christian nationalist church where pastors said women should not be allowed to vote. The Associated Press said Hegseth did not directly say he agrees with taking away women’s voting rights, but he still shared the video with the message, “All of Christ for All of Life.”
Hegseth’s office didn’t try to distance him from the video. A Pentagon spokesperson said Hegseth is a proud member of a church connected to CREC and that he respects the teachings of the pastor in the video.
At the same time, Hegseth has removed several women from leadership positions in the U.S. military.
When Donald Trump started his second term, 50 Republican senators confirmed Hegseth for his important job despite his controversial views. So far, none of those senators have said they regret their vote.
