Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Ola.) on Tuesday called out the “ridiculous” hypocrisy of his Democrat colleagues on the Senate Armed Services Committee during a contentious confirmation hearing for Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth.
Hegseth, 44, faced tense questioning for over four hours Tuesday morning, with Democrats focusing on his qualifications and personal issues like his extramarital affairs and a sexual assault allegation, of which he was eventually cleared.
Mullin, a former businessman, asked his fellow senators whether they would meet the standards they were setting for Hegseth.
“I’m just making a point because there’s a lot about qualifications, and I think it is so hypocritical of senators, especially on the other side of the aisle, to be talking about his qualifications—and yet your qualifications aren’t any better, Mullin stated. You guys aren’t any more qualified to be a senator than I am, except we are lucky enough to be here.”
Let me read what the Secretary of Defense is, because I googled it. Really, it is hard to see, but in general, the U.S. Secretary of Defense position is “filled by a civilian.” That’s it. If you have served in the U.S. Armed Forces and have been in the service, you have to be retired for at least seven years, and Congress can waive that.
And then there’s the question that the senator from Massachusetts brought up about serving on a board inside the military industry, and yet your own Secretary, who you all voted for—Secretary Austin — we had to put a waiver on because he stepped off the board of Raytheon. But I guess that is okay because that is a Democrat Secretary of Defense. But we so quickly forget about that.
The Senator went on to blast Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) for bringing up debunked rumors that Hegseth showed up to work at Fox News drunk.
Mullin, 47, who has served as the junior United States senator from Oklahoma since 2023, suggested that he has already observed his own colleagues intoxicated at work.
“How many senators have shown up drunk to vote at night?” he asked, as the chamber erupted in applause.
Have any of you guys asked them to step down or resign from their job? And don’t tell me you haven’t seen it, because I know you have. And how many senators do you know who have gotten a divorce for cheating on their wives? Did you ask them to step down? No? It is for show.
Make sure you make a big show and point out the hypocrisy because a man has made a mistake. And you want to sit there and say that he is not qualified? Give me a break. It is so ridiculous that you guys hold yourselves to this higher standard and you forget you’ve got a big plank in your own eyes.
We’ve all made mistakes. I’ve made mistakes, and Jennifer, thank you for loving him through that mistake. Because the only reason 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 who thought I was perfect and, for whatever reason, loved me.
And I don’t know why. But just like our Lord and Savior forgave me, my wife decided to forgive me more than once, and I’m sure you’ve had to forgive him, too. So, thank you.
Hegseth testified that his wife is “the smartest, most capable, loving, humble person I’ve ever met, in addition to being incredibly beautiful.”
Hegseth was an infantry officer in the Minnesota National Guard and served at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in 2004-2005 and in Iraq 2005-2006.
The former Fox and Friends host acknowledged in his opening statement that “It is true that I don’t have a similar biography to Defense secretaries of the last 30 years” but maintained that President-Elect Trump wanted to shake things up at the Pentagon.
“As President Trump also told me, we’ve repeatedly placed people atop the Pentagon with supposedly ‘the right credentials’ — whether they are retired generals, academics or defense contractor executives — and where has it gotten us?” Hegseth said. “He believes, and I humbly agree, that it’s time to give someone with dust on his boots the helm. A change agent. Someone with no vested interest in certain companies or specific programs or approved narratives,” he added.
Hegseth’s performance at the hearing Tuesday received accolades from fellow Republicans, including Senate Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), who described the testimony as a “tour de force and “a triumph” that will ultimately lead to confirmation.
“I think Mr. Hegseth had three audiences— the committee, the United States Senate, and the general American public,” Wicker said after the hearing concluded.
“I think it was a magnificent display of his knowledge and his ability to communicate his leadership abilities,” he added, telling reporters, “I feel very good about this hearing today. I don’t think it could have gone any better.”
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) echoed this assessment, telling reporters that he thought Hegsth “passed the hearing with flying colors.”
Democrats “tried to rattle him, that’s what their main plan was,” he said, adding “they brought out all these anonymous allegations.”
“He’s awesome,” Tuberville said of Hegseth, noting that he “had an answer for every” adversarial question asked.
Tuberville said he would “be shocked” if any Republicans voted against him.
Trump reaffirmed his support for Hegseth Tuesday morning ahead of the confirmation hearing.
“Pete Hegseth will make a GREAT Secretary of Defense. He has my Complete and Total support. Good luck today, Pete!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.