During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Tuesday, Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) spoke about former tweets from Anthony J. Tata, nominee to be Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness.
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00:00round senator Hirono thank you mr. chairman welcome to both of you and your
00:05families to ensure the fitness to serve I ask the following two initial
00:11questions of the nominees to any of the committees on which I sit so I'll ask
00:16the two of you will start with mr. Tata and then go to miss Sutton since you
00:21became a legal adult have you ever made unwanted requests for sexual favors or
00:26committed any verbal or physical harassment or assault of a sexual nature
00:31senator I have not I have not have you ever faced discipline or entered into a
00:37settlement related to this kind of conduct senator I have not senator I have
00:42not mr. Tata the position you've been nominated for undersecretary of defense
00:49or personnel and readiness is among the most consequential in the DOD and you
00:55would be responsible for setting policies that affect the lives of more than 3
01:00million uniformed and civilian members of our military community from recruitment
01:07and readiness to health care family support for structure and this position
01:12requires integrity sound judgment and an unwavering commitment to serving all who
01:19wear the uniform and those who support them your record gives me pause and it
01:28causes me to question whether you possess the necessary qualities for this role you
01:34have made inflammatory and deeply offensive public statements calling
01:38President Obama a terrorist leader calling Islam or claiming that Islam is the
01:44most oppressive violent religion and promoting dangerous conspiracy theories and these
01:52weren't slips of the tongue or out of character as you noted today they were
01:58repeated deliberate and public moreover they were coupled with statements that
02:04disparaged senior military leaders suggested a politicized purge of the officer
02:10corps and supported unlawful use of force under a suspended posse comitatus act you have
02:17also been found by the army inspector general to have violated the uniform code of military
02:23justice which raises additional concerns about your adherence to military standards of
02:30conduct and according to multiple reports and letters including bipartisan opposition from military former military leaders your nomination is widely perceived
02:40as being driven by political loyalty rather than professional qualifications
02:47you would be tasked with leading a diverse workforce one that includes Muslim
02:53service members women in combat roles LGBTQ personnel and senior leaders who have who
03:02you have attacked or proposed be fired given this record I question whether you would
03:09be able to lead with impartiality dignity and professionalism I do have some
03:17questions for you the military must remain a nonpartisan institution guided by constitutional
03:23principles and civilian control you previously endorsed using military forces as I noted in a domestic
03:30context by suggesting Congress suspend posse comitatus under what circumstances do you believe such an action would be justified
03:39the senator I appreciate being able to have this conversation specifically what I was referring to is
03:46the border where the military is supporting the border patrol and whether or not that requires
03:56suspension of posse comitatus I don't know but the idea that we need better border security is really what I was saying in that remark well we do have a
04:08military personnel at the border in fact last year the former national guard bureau chief testified that the border security mission by the military provides no military training value to guardsmen and does not prepare troops for great power competition a 2021 GAO report found multiple units lost critical training opportunities due to deployments to the border impairing operational readiness
04:15wouldn't you agree Mr. Tata that sending thousands of troops to the border not to perform military functions but not to perform military functions but not to perform military functions but not to perform military
04:22functions but not to perform military functions but not to perform civilian functions that one would hope that Homeland Security would be able to do but wouldn't you agree that this is not going to be a
04:32due to deployments to the border impairing operational readiness wouldn't
04:40you agree mr. Tata that sending thousands of troops to the border not to perform
04:44military functions they're performing civilian functions that one would hope
04:48that homeland security would be able to do but wouldn't you agree that this kind
04:53of deployment and use by of troops affects negatively affects our military
04:59readiness senator border security is national security and the inherently
05:06military functions that the reserve and National Guard in particular perform
05:10logistically to support the operations at the border I think are right in line
05:16with preparation for combat operations obviously we have a disagreement on that
05:21point because homeland security and others should be doing performing that
05:25function because we have had testimony that says that the military at the
05:30border is not performing the kind of functions that would really enhance
05:33their ability to serve there were thank you you testified that you would comply
05:41with lawful orders I'm sorry mr. chairman I will submit that I did have a question
05:47about whether or not the president president Trump at one point ordered
05:52protesters to be shot in the leg and my question was whether you would comply with
05:55such an order and he'll let them take that for the record thank you very much
06:00senator Hirono senator