During remarks on the Senate floor Thursday, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) spoke about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and claimed that he is the victim of a 'smear' campaign.
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00:00Mr. President, I come to the floor today to talk about how my Democratic colleagues, some
00:05rhinos, and the globalist media are working together to try to take down Donald Trump
00:12and derail his America's First agenda.
00:16The latest target, President Trump's Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth.
00:21I've said many times that I'm convinced that many Democrats would rather see America and
00:26its leaders fail than to see this country succeed.
00:31It's sad, but it's true.
00:34You know, when President Trump nominated Pete Hegseth to serve as Secretary of Defense, he
00:38intentionally picked someone who understands what it means to fight for this country, not
00:47from behind a desk, but from the front lines.
00:52Pete didn't inherit stars on his uniform.
00:55He earned his stripes while serving in the Middle East.
01:00He's one of the few in Washington who's been in the fight and experienced the traumas of
01:06war.
01:08He knows firsthand what the warfighter goes through each and every day, which is why military
01:14recruiting has skyrocketed under his leadership.
01:18I don't know why, I don't know about you, but as a dad of two sons, I am glad that the
01:25man leading our Department of Defense knows the dangers of war firsthand.
01:30You know, for decades, this country has gotten involved in foreign wars that we've had no business
01:39being involved in.
01:41Thousands of Americans have lost their lives.
01:44Tillions of dollars have been squandered fighting wars where no clear objectives past the victory
01:51has ever been provided to the American citizen.
01:54We just fight them.
01:56You would think that we would learn from at least one or two of these painful lessons.
02:03But no, that hasn't stopped the globalist war monger machine in Washington, D.C.
02:10They love war because it funds paychecks.
02:13You know, for this reason, Democrats, the swamp, and some rhinos banded together to oppose Pete
02:22Hegseth immediately after he was nominated by President Trump.
02:26It didn't take them long.
02:28I'm convinced that their opposition to Hegseth was only because he was not part of the military
02:36industrial complex.
02:39As a member of the Armed Services Committee, I came to the Senate floor to urge my colleagues
02:44to support Pete Hegseth's nomination because of his outsider, not Washington, D.C., but outsider
02:51status.
02:54Thankfully, he was confirmed.
02:56But unfortunately, the smears of some of which have come from my colleagues have only
03:01gotten worse since Hegseth was confirmed.
03:06You know, globalists in the media, some Republicans are working overtime to try to get Pete Hegseth.
03:12The media is breathlessly rushing to put a microphone in front of every single disgruntled
03:18former Pentagon employee who has been fired by this secretary.
03:23You know, it doesn't matter what they're fired for.
03:27All that matters to the media and the rhinos is that they have something to say bad about
03:32the secretary of defense.
03:34It's clear as day in and day out that these efforts to embarrass Hegseth are nothing more
03:43than desperate attempts to salvage reputations and distract from the successes he is already
03:49having in the Pentagon.
03:51The truth is, Hegseth inherited a complete, absolute mess at the DOD.
03:58The Pentagon has failed an audit seven years in a row.
04:04You know, if a business did that, they'd go under.
04:08But in our government, that's just par for the course.
04:12And thanks to the Biden administration's horrible withdrawal from Afghanistan, countries who hate
04:17us like China, Iran, and Venezuela have been emboldened.
04:21Instead of working to deter World War III, however, Joe Biden's Pentagon was more focused on social
04:28justice.
04:29In 2024, the Biden Defense Department requested more than $114 million for DEI initiatives,
04:39$114 million.
04:41Meanwhile, recruitment was a historic low and falling.
04:46Military readiness was slipping and the world saw a weakened United States.
04:53Secretary Heseth made it clear that he's here to reverse course and that changes that he's
05:00made are already visible to the positive.
05:04Secretary Heseth has already eliminated more than 200 diversity and inclusion positions and
05:09cut more than $580 million in wasteful grants and contracts.
05:15$580 million.
05:17Secretary Heseth has made it clear that he has focused on warfighting, readiness, mission
05:23focus, not political correctness, or appeasing the woke mob.
05:28He's restored merit-based promotions, refocused leadership training on battlefield effectiveness,
05:34terminated taxpayer-funded abortions from military personnel, and reinstalled discipline as a cornerstone
05:42of the United States of America military.
05:45This isn't just talk, either.
05:47The Department is actively removing woke DEI materials from service academies and replacing
05:53them with warfighting-centric curricula.
05:57He also cut through bloated procurement delays and brought transparency to the defense budget.
06:06What a novel concept is actually knowing what your budget is.
06:10You know, just four months in, DOD has achieved 100 percent operational control of the border.
06:16This was after the Biden administration said for four years that, hey, there's nothing that
06:21they could do to secure the border.
06:23Well, what a joke.
06:26Under Secretary Heseth's leadership, the Department has moved to reduce acquisitions, timelines,
06:30fast-track critical update systems, and is making sure the U.S. is ready to compete and win wars
06:39in the 21st century.
06:41And construction on the historic Golden Dome, by the way, is well underway.
06:46But it's not just about equipment.
06:49Pete has doubled down on his support for the warfighter by improving access to mental health
06:56services, other resources that boost morale and readiness.
07:00It was much needed.
07:01He reinstated the service members who were wrongfully removed over their personal decisions to not
07:07take the COVID-19 vaccine.
07:11Many of them.
07:12He's reinstated quite a few.
07:15The fact that President Biden and Secretary Austin dismissed these service members was absolutely
07:21dead wrong.
07:23And I'm glad that President Trump's administration has taken quick action to right this wrong.
07:29When I met with Pete during his confirmation process, I told him plainly, don't go to Washington
07:34to make friends, but to go there and fight for the warfighter.
07:39So far, he's kept his promise.
07:41I can't speak for everyone, but I know the folks I've talked to back in my state of Alabama are
07:47very appreciative.
07:51We need a Secretary of Defense who's focused on one thing, and one thing only, defending
07:57America.
07:59And that's what Pete Hexteth is doing.
08:02And he will tell you this, there is no second place in war.
08:06We have to be ready at all times.
08:08You know, under the Biden administration, 13 American troops lost their lives because of
08:14poor planning in Afghanistan.
08:16We all know that.
08:17We've seen it.
08:18We're pretty much alive.
08:19Under President Trump and Hexteth, we have executed successful strikes against terrorist
08:24hooties that have resulted in critical shipping lanes being reopened.
08:30We have to get our shipping lanes open because it is costing this country millions and millions
08:37of dollars, and world leaders across the country are begging for this to happen.
08:43Pete Hexteth didn't sign up to be liked by the D.C.
08:46cocktail circuit.
08:47You know, he committed to making the military great again, and that's exactly what he's doing.
08:54You know, the swamp doesn't like people it can't control, but America loves its leaders who
09:01tell the truth and fight for what matters.
09:04Pete Hexteth is one of those leaders.
09:07So let's be clear, Pete is not the problem.
09:09A lot of the media think Pete Hexteth's a problem.
09:13He's not the problem.
09:14He's the solution to the problem we've had.
09:18And while the swamp keeps losing its ever-loving mind, because we have leaders who are actually
09:23putting America first again, Secretary Hexteth will keep marching forward, focused on the
09:30only thing that matters, making our military the strongest, fierce, and most respected fighting
09:36force in the world.
09:39I yield the floor, Mr. President.