High tensions in the Senate during the hearings of ministers appointed by Donald Trump. Pete Hegseth, controversial choice at the Pentagon, attracts criticism. Will the president-elect succeed in imposing his team despite the opposition? Details of the first round…
It was under high tension that the confirmation hearings of the ministers appointed by Donald Trump began Tuesday in the US Senate. First step in a journey strewn with pitfalls for the government of the newly elected president, with a spotlight on the very controversial Pete Hegseth, tipped for the strategic post of Minister of Defense.
Pete Hegseth on the Armed Services Committee grilling
A former soldier converted as a star presenter for Fox News, Pete Hegseth opened the hearings Tuesday morning in front of senators from the Armed Services Committee. His main mission if confirmed, he insisted: “bring back the culture of the warrior” to the Pentagon. An establishment which, according to him, has become too “woke” and committed to left-wing ideas, which he intends to reform in depth.
Dismissal of generals, ban on transgender people from serving under the flags… The plans of the Secretary of Defense are making people cringe. “Like me, President Trump wants a Pentagon focused 100% on combat, lethality, meritocracy. That’s my job,” he assured, interrupted several times by demonstrators protesting against the war in Gaza.
An experience and a profile in question
But Democratic senators quickly stepped up to point the finger at the “extremely alarming” profile of Pete Hegseth. In addition to his lack of experience for such a sensitive position, elected official Jack Reed rattled off a long list of nonsense: “contempt for the laws of war”, “racist and sexist remarks”, “alcohol abuse”, “harassment sexual” and even an accusation of sexual assault in 2017, denied by the person concerned.
Can we really count on a Hegseth who found himself so drunk at work events that he had to be carried out, making life-and-death decisions about national security at 2 a.m.? No.
Elizabeth Warren, Democratic Senator
Trump maintains his support despite controversies
Despite this barrage, Donald Trump reaffirmed his confidence in the man he describes as a “winner” at the beginning of December. Refusing to let go of his anticipated Minister of Defense as he had to do for his initial choice for Justice, Matt Gaetz, whose appointment collapsed in the face of an outcry even within the Republican camp.
A sign that for his second term, the president is freeing himself from the party establishment to surround himself with faithful people, even if it means shaking up customs with very divisive profiles. A high-risk strategy as a marathon of hearings opens in the Senate that promise to be explosive, from internal security to diplomacy, including justice and health.
A damning report for Trump in the background
The start of this confirmation process comes just hours after the release of Special Prosecutor Jack Smith’s final report. Damning conclusions which affirm that Donald Trump would not have escaped conviction for his illegal attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election if he had failed to reconquer the White House in November.
Enough to further electrify the already tense atmosphere in Congress, where the Republican majority and the Democratic opposition are preparing to cross swords in a fierce battle to shape the face of the Trump administration. As this high-risk sequence begins, one thing is certain: the debates will be intense, and the outcome is far from being written.
