President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, previously argued that out gay people serving in the military is part of a larger “Marxist” agenda.
Hegseth made the argument that the policy is putting social justice over combat readiness in his book The War on Warriors which was published this year.
He also slammed the previous policy — Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell — which allowed gay people in the armed services as long as they didn’t reveal their sexual orientation. The nominee also criticized the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
The policy was a compromise put forward in 1993 during the presidency of Bill Clinton to allow gay people to serve in the armed forces over the objections of some top commanders. Before that, there had been a ban on gay people in the military put in place during the Second World War, The Guardian noted.
The policy was repealed during Barack Obama’s presidency in 2011 after several complaints of discrimination following dishonorable discharges of members of the armed forces after their sexual orientation had been revealed.
When asked by reporters Thursday if gays should serve in the military, the former Fox News host and National Guard captain replied, “Yes,” Politico reported.
In the past week, his confirmation appears to be on more solid ground as pressure mounts for GOP senators to support him. He continues working through Washington to secure swing votes from those who haven’t said whether they would vote “yes” on him — such as Sens. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska).
Collins said he showed more “openness” on women in combat and Ernst called him “very supportive of women in the military,” according to the Politico report.
Following his meeting Monday, Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville told reporters Hegseth would be "great" for the position.
Tuberville said he didn't talk with Hegseth about his "personal" life on Monday, but later clarified that they indeed spoke on the phone about the misconduct allegations against Hegseth.
"I'm gonna leave the personal stuff between y'all and him whenever he has an opportunity to sit down with you and explain, you know, the allegations that you're all pushing out," Tuberville told reporters.
