Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) slammed Democrat colleagues attacking Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Defense, during Tuesday’s hearing, calling them out for their hypocrisy on a range of topics.
Mullin called out Democrat senators — particularly those who continue to question Hegseth’s qualifications for leading such a massive department.
“You know, there’s a lot of talk going about talking about qualifications, and then about us hiring him if we are the board, but there’s a lot of senators here I wouldn’t have on my board, because there is no qualifications except your age, and you got to be living in the state and you’re a citizen of the United States to be a senator,” he said.
“In fact, we got to convince a lot of people to vote for us, and then when we start talking about qualifications for, if you’re qualified for it, could the chairman tell me what the qualifications are for the Secretary of Defense? Mr. Chairman, could you tell me what the qualifications are for the Secretary of Defense?” he asked.
“Let me read it for you,” he continued, explaining that he is making a point.
“Because there’s a lot about qualifications. I think it’s so hypocritical of senators, especially on the other side, I’ll be talking about his qualifications … and yet your qualifications aren’t any better,” he remarked blasting them.
“You guys aren’t any more qualified to be the senator than I’m qualified to be the senator, except we’re lucky enough to be here. But let me read you what the qualifications of the Secretary of Defense is, because I Googled it and I Googled it and went through a lot of different sites, and really it’s hard to see, but in general, the U.S. Secretary of Defense position is filled by a civilian,” he revealed. “That’s it.”
That reality prompted laughter in the room. Mullin went on:
If you have served in the U.S. Army forces and been in the service for — you have to be retired for at least seven years, and Congress can weigh that — and then there’s questions that my, that the senator from Massachusetts brought up about serving on a board inside the military industry, and yet your own secretary that you all voted for, Secretary Austin, we had to vote on a waiver because he stepped off the board of Raytheon. But I guess that’s okay, because that’s a Democrat Secretary of Defense.
Mullin noted that Democrats quickly forgot that fact.
He then blasted Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), who he said started “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?” he asked, prompting laughter in the room again.
“Have many of you guys asked them to step down and resign for their job? And don’t tell me you haven’t seen it, because I know you have,” he said, addressing the other attacks from his leftist colleagues. Mullin added:
And then how many senators do you know have got a divorce for cheating on their wives? Did you ask them to step down? No, but it’s for show. You guys make sure you make a big show and point out the hypocrisy, because a man’s made a mistake, and you want to sit there and say that he’s not qualified.
“It is so ridiculous that you guys hold yourself as this higher standard, and you forget you got a big plank in your eye. We’ve all made mistakes. I’ve made mistakes,” he said, thanking Hegseth’s wife for “loving him through that mistake, because the only reason why I’m here and not in prison is because my wife loved me too.”
“I have changed, but I’m not perfect, but I found somebody that thought I was perfect. And for whatever reason you love Pete, and I don’t know why, but just like our Lord and Savior forgave me, my wife’s had to forgive me more than once too, and I’m sure you’ve had to forgive him too,” he continued.
Read the full article here