Quotes
First of all, I've never had a drinking problem. No one's ever approached me and said, 'You should really look at getting help for drinking.' Never, never sought counseling, never sought help, but I respect and appreciate people who do. But you know, what do guys do when they come back from war oftentimes? Have some beers. How do you deal with the demons you see on the battlefield? Sometimes it's with a bottle."
Hegseth said in an interview on The Megyn Kelly Show What I was trying to get to is if you're capable of doing your job and you're able to still drink on the job or late in the evening, don't tell me that Pete can't,
I'd look around at 10 o'clock and be like, 'What am I going to do today? How about I drink some beers? How about I go have some lunch and have some beers? How about I meet my one or two buddies and have some beers?'
In an August 2021 appearance on The Will Cain Show podcast, Hegseth said There was never any drinking on the job at Fox News. Multiple people have come out on the record using their names to refute these false anonymous claims."
Tim Parlatore, Hegseth's attorney, previously told Newsweek How many senators have showed up drunk to vote at night?"
Mullin said at the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill This is the biggest deployment of my life, and there won't be a drop of alcohol on my lips while I'm doing it,
My whole point was that the senators on the other side were trying to act like they had more morals than Pete Hegseth,
He [Hegseth] was adequately able to answer all of my questions. He pointed out the woke issues at the Pentagon, and I think we're at a point where now we can start moving forward. People know where he stands on these issues. So yes, I will be supporting President Trump's pick for Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth."
Iowa Senator Joni Ernst, speaking to a local radio station Some I can vote for, like the incoming secretary of agriculture, or Marco Rubio, or Representative Stefanik, and there's others, perhaps, that I will not. But whoever I vote for, it's going to be an informed choice. And I see that as doing my job. I don't see that as controversial."
Senator John Fetterman, in a January 4 interview with the Pennsylvania Capital-Star As I've said to many of you in our private meetings, when President Trump chose me for this position, the primary charge he gave me was to bring the warrior culture back to the Department of Defense. He, like me, wants a Pentagon laser-focused on warfighting, lethality, meritocracy, standards, and readiness. That's it. That is my job."
Pete Hegseth, in his opening statement at the defense secretary nomination hearing I don't know if he [Fetterman] went down there [Mar-a-Lago] to make nice with Trump or because it's better weather for shorts, but he went down there this weekend. Trump had plenty of nice things to say about Fetterman, which suggests, yes, that Fetterman made some representations to Trump that pleased him. But yeah, I think there could be some Democratic defections there."
David Axelrod, speaking on the Hacks on Tap podcast It was a totally fascinating meeting. He's a fascinating man, and his wife is lovely. They were both up, and I couldn't be more impressed. He's a commonsense person. He's not liberal or conservative. He's just a commonsense person, which is beautiful."
President-elect Donald Trump, speaking to the Washington Examinerabout meeting with Fetterman Are you OK with waterboarding”, ... Senator, the law of the land is that waterboarding is not legal.”
When King asked ... Hegseth said It’s time to give someone with dust on his boots the helm.”
Hegseth echoed that point, saying Hegseth has supported the use of torture, including the use of waterboarding.”
In a January 7 letter before Hegseth’s confirmation hearing, Elizabeth Warren, the Democratic senator from Massachusetts, wrote Your position is, torture’s OK? Is that correct? Waterboarding?”
In the confirmation hearing, Angus King, an independent senator from Maine who caucuses with Democrats, asked Hegseth So, you don’t have any problem with waterboarding [9/11 attacks conspirator] Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, as (then-Vice President) Dick Cheney didn’t have any problem, right?”
In 2008, when he was affiliated with the group Vets for Freedom, Hegseth appeared on Fox News with then-host Bill O’Reilly, who asked him Senator, that is not what I said. I’ve never been party to torture. We are a country that fights by the rule of law, and our men and women always do, and yet we have too many people here in air-conditioned offices that like to point fingers at the guys in dark and dangerous places, the gals in helicopters [in] enemy territory, who are doing things that people in Washington, DC, would never dare to do.”
I also volunteered to guard the inauguration of Joe Biden, but was denied the opportunity to serve because I was identified as an extremist by my own unit for a Christian tattoo.”
Hegseth said at the hearing Our next commander in chief selected Pete Hegseth to serve in this role, and after our conversations, hearing from Iowans, and doing my job as a United States Senator, I will support President Trump's pick for Secretary of Defense."
In a statement on her decision, Joni Ernst said
