McConnell Releases Statement In Defense Of ‘No’ Vote For Hegseth

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, released a statement late on Friday night explaining his decision to vote against confirming Pete Hegseth to Secretary of Defense.

McConnell’s statement comes after Hegseth was confirmed in a 51-50 vote in the U.S. Senate earlier in the night with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote.

The 82-year-old said that the U.S. was in a more serious threat environment today than at any other point since World War II, making the position even more important.

McConnell wrote:

Effective management of nearly 3 million military and civilian personnel, an annual budget of nearly $1 trillion, and alliances and partnerships around the world is a daily test with staggering consequences for the security of the American people and our global interests.

Mr. Hegseth has failed, as yet, to demonstrate that he will pass this test. But as he assumes office, the consequences of failure are as high as they have ever been.

McConnell argued that a “desire to be a ‘change agent’ is not enough to fill these shoes” and that numerous secretaries “distinguished combat experience and time in the trenches have failed at the job.”

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McConnell continued:

The United States faces coordinated aggression from adversaries bent on shattering the order underpinning American security and prosperity. In public comments and testimony before the Armed Services Committee, Mr. Hegseth did not reckon with this reality.

President Trump has rightly called on NATO allies to spend more on our collective defense. But the nominee who would have been responsible for leading that effort wouldn’t even commit to growing America’s defense investment beyond the low bar set by the Biden Administration’s budget requests.

In his testimony before the Committee, Mr. Hegseth provided no substantial observations on how to defend Taiwan or the Philippines against a Chinese attack, or even whether he believes the United States should do so. He failed, for that matter, to articulate in any detail a strategic vision for dealing with the gravest long-term threat emanating from the PRC.

Absent, too, was any substantive discussion of countering our adversaries’ alignment with deeper alliance relationships and more extensive defense industrial cooperation of our own.

McConnell said that he wished Hegseth “great success” in the role and that he looked forward to closely working with him “to restore American hard power.”

“Every member of the uniformed services will be looking to him for decisive, principled, and nonpartisan leadership,” he added.

McConnell’s move was met with backlash from some of his Republican colleagues:

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