Despite his frequent struggles during his confirmation hearing, Sen. Tim Kaine’s line of questioning was particularly challenging for Pete Hegseth, the scandal-plagued former Fox News anchor who Donald Trump appointed to head the Pentagon.
More than his peers, the Democrat from Virginia drew attention to some of Hegseth’s personal troubles, such as claims of infidelity, sexual misconduct, and alcohol misuse. Sen. Markwayne Mullin made an extraordinary attempt to defend the potential candidate shortly after.During the Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing, the Republican from Oklahoma pressed this line:
[Kaine] starts bringing up the fact that what if you showed up drunk to your job? How many senators have showed up drunk to vote at night? Have any of you guys asked them to step down and resign from their job? And don’t tell me you haven’t seen it, because I know you have. And then how many senators do you know have gotten a divorce before cheating on their wives? Did you ask them to step down?
As a rule, one might expect Hegseth’s GOP allies to argue, especially in public, that the prospective nominee has not struggled with excessive drinking. Mullin apparently thought it’d be a good idea to go in the opposite direction: The Oklahoman described it as a “fact” that Hegseth “showed up drunk” while on the job.
But in the next breath, Mullin seemed to suggest that Hegseth’s alleged alcohol abuse is unimportant because, by his telling, he’s seen senators drunk while on the job, too.
In other words, as far as the Senate Republican is concerned, there’s no point in trying to hold a Pentagon secretary to a higher standard because Mullin has seen politicians fail to meet those same standards.
I can see the placards now: “Vote to confirm Hegseth! He’s about as bad as members of Congress who drink too much and cheat on their wives!”
Mullin discussed the argument in further detail with CNN’s Kaitlin Collins a few hours later. “What I wanted to say is, do not tell me that Pete can not perform his job if you are capable of doing it and you can still drink at work or late at night,” the senator stated.
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing, expecting different outcomes,” Mullin continued during the same on-air conversation. Additionally, we continue to recycle the same kinds of people as the secretary of defense. Furthermore, where have they taken us? Not at all.
This was hardly any better. In effect, the GOP senator argued that the country has had qualified Pentagon chiefs, which in Mullin’s mind has gotten us “nowhere,” so it’s time to go with an unqualified defense secretary.
The idea that the civilian leadership of the armed forces has gotten us “nowhere” is bizarre: The United States has the strongest and most capable military on the planet. Why put that preeminence in jeopardy with a prospective nominee who’s obviously unfit for the job?
