Sen Tammy Duckworth knows how to fight. She was a U.S. Army pilot during the Iraq War. In 2004, she lost both her legs when a rocket-propelled grenade fired by Iraqi insurgents hit her Blackhawk helicopter. She didn't quit. Despite her injuries, the Army awarded her a medical waiver, allowing her to continue serving in the Illinois Army National Guard for an additional ten years until her retirement as a lieutenant colonel in 2014.
During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing today, she again defended the United States against a clear and present danger — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. It was a one-sided affair. A powerful woman eviscerated a fancy-boy pretender.
The drunken serial sexual abuser was in the Senate to answer questions from the Senators about all things military. When it was her turn, Duckworth started as she ended — on offense. (Video at the bottom.) She began by pointing out that a recent Navy operation had been an expensive waste of time.
"The Secretary of defense has just admitted that the $1 billion mission that he led against the Houthis, who do not have a navy, has not restored the transit of US-flagged commercial vessels through the Red Sea. And in fact has resulted in the loss of two F-18 Hornets to the tune of $60 million a piece. As well as … seven Reaper drones to the tune of $200 million."
She added that Hegseth was "blowing through money" like drunken young soldiers on their "first liberty." She did not take her foot off the gas. She pointed out that the Pentagon chief is no better than a clueless teen boy showing off in front of the girls. A man who throws other people's money around. And who is such a toxic boss no one wants to be in the same office with him.
"Your failures since taking office have been staggering.
- You sent classified operational information over Signal to chest-bump in front of your wife — who, by the way, has no security clearance — risking service member lives in the process.
- You blew the $1 billion fight against the Houthis.
- You have created such a hostile command environment that no one wants to serve as your chief of staff or work with you in other senior DoD leadership roles.
Then she gets to this dismal man's fascistic misuse of the nation's military on home soil. A strategy that has beggared America's ability to deal with looming foreign threats to the country.
"You have an unjustified, un-American misuse of the military in American cities, pulling resources and attention away from core missions to the detriment of the country [and] the warfighters. And yes the warfighters that you claim to love."
Duckworth speculates as to why Hegseth is so shit at his job.
"I don't know if this is because you are too inexperienced and incompetent to understand the real threats facing our country. Or if it's because you are just an unqualified yes-man who cannot tell the President how to keep Americans safe."
The Senator turns to the MAGA celebration of American traitors.
"You are focusing on renaming bases for Confederate generals."
Duckworth next referred to a previous answer Hegseth had given to Sen. Angus King (I-ME) in which he had told King that "to a man and a woman," American soldiers preferred the Confederate base names. Tammy set Pete straight.
"Well, I am one of those women. I served at Fort Rucker, Alabama. A base that was named for a traitor who took up arms against the United States of America. Who led troops who killed Americans. It was renamed for Mike Novosel, a Medal of Honor recipient."
She then outlined the heroism that had led to Novosel receiving his honor — including saving 29 lives as a U.S. Army helicopter pilot during the Vietnam War. (BTW, his is a compelling story of a man who joined the fight at the age of 41. CLICK HERE if interested.) Duckworth wrapped up her point with a simple declaration.
"I would rather be associated with Mike Novosel than a failed Confederate traitor."
Duckworth returned to the out-of-his-depth pretender sitting in front of her — and speculated when he might start doing his job.
"I don't know whether you are inexperienced or too incompetent, but I wonder when you will actually focus on our nation's warfighting mission."
She called out Hegseth's non-military motives for siccing the U.S. military on American citizens.
"We know that California is just a deliberate, systematic, and dangerous campaign led by you. We should not be using our military to play cops against Americans."
Duckworth turned her attention to Trump-appointed Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Dan ‘Razin' Caine. She asked him if current military planning included expanding the use of the military as cops to "other locations in the United States." It was a simple question. One an honest man could answer 'yes' or 'no.' But Caine waffled.
She left the general to stew in his non-responsive juices and returned to Hegseth. She ripped him for his hypocrisy.
"Secretary Hegseth, you say you are focused on warfighting and warriors. These are your words. Yet you are diverting untold DoD resources and attention to the fundamentally non-military mission of domestic policing across the country."
She ripped him for reducing America's warfighters to filing clerks.
"We have qualified police officers who are trained for that mission. They know the streets better than the Marines you deployed to Los Angeles, who normally focus on the Indo-Pacific. And you recently approved 700 more troops in three other states to do admin and logistics work for ICE."
She ripped him for his lies about the value of these non-military office and police jobs.
"You say all of this is valuable training, but I would much rather have our troops do tough, realistic training relevant to high-end combat. Instead of typing in spreadsheets for ICE, they should be conducting live-fire maneuver exercises. Instead of patrolling American neighborhoods and standing in front of federal buildings, they should be rehearsing [indecipherable] fire missions.
She ripped him for ignoring America's real enemies.
"We have local police who can stand in front of those federal buildings. And the list of distractions goes on. You are encouraging the DoD workforce to go work for DHS, in increasing numbers. You are pulling the military away from facing foreign enemies who literally say things like "Death to America." And you're putting troops with weapons aimed at Americans."
And she finished with an exhortation for Hegseth to put up or shut up. And offered Pete career advice after his inevitable sacking.
"Mr. Secretary, let the military get back to its real job. Stop forcing them to do DHS's. And if you want to be DHS Secretary, maybe you can apply for that job when you are fired from this one due to your incompetence."
I confidently predict that several bottles of alcohol will be murdered tonight. And Trump will be asking his owners who the next Secretary of Defense should be.
