FOX Business host Larry Kudlow reacts to the confirmation hearings of the Trump secretary of defense nominee on ‘Kudlow.’
Pete Hegseth shined today in his 4-hour-plus hearing to become secretary of defense. Right off the top, he talked about his mission to restore the warrior ethos to the Pentagon, to rebuild the military, and to re-establish deterrence on the global scene.
PETE HEGSETH: “When President Trump chose me for this position, the primary charge he gave me was to bring the warrior culture back to the Department of Defense. He, like me, wants a Pentagon laser focused on lethality, meritocracy, warfighting accountability and readiness. // He believes, and I humbly agree, that it’s time to give someone with dust on his boots the helm – a change agent.”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – AUGUST 09: Fox anchor Pete Hegseth interviews entrepreneur and venture capitalist Peter Thiel during “FOX & Friends” at Fox News Channel Studios on August 09, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images) (John Lamparski / Getty Images)
Rather than another bureaucrat, or even a high-ranking general, or somebody from the military-industrial boardroom, Mr. Hegseth would be a soldier’s defense secretary – emphasizing his “dust on the boots” experience on the battlefield. Take a listen:
PETE HEGSETH: “I’ve led troops in combat. I’ve been on patrol for days. I’ve pulled the trigger downrange, heard bullets whiz by, flex, cuffed insurgents, called in close air support, led medevac, dodged IEDs, pulled out dead bodies and knelt before a battlefield cross. This is not academic for me. This is my life.”
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Standards will be high in a Hegseth Pentagon, but woke and DEI will be very low.
Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., and Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., react to the confirmation hearing of the Trump nominee on ‘Kudlow.’
Hegseth, a highly decorated veteran who served in both the Afghanistan and Iraq combat zones, said again and again he wants warriors, readiness, and lethality above all else. Here’s another clip from today:
PETE HEGSETH: “We won World War II with seven four-star generals. Today we have 44 four-star generals. There’s an inverse relationship between the size of staffs and victory on the battlefield. We don’t need more bureaucracy at the top. We need more warfighters empowered at the bottom.”
There will be fiscal audits to curb waste, but there’s also going to be targeted spending increases in places like naval ships and nuclear deterrence, and elsewhere.
And all the Democrats could do, for over four hours, was attack him personally – quoting anonymous smears that have never been proven.
‘Kudlow’ panelists Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., and Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., unpack the Hegseth confirmation hearing.
Democrats were incredibly partisan. Not a single one showed any support at all for Hegseth. And none of the Democrats acknowledged the Biden failures in Afghanistan, or Russia-Ukraine, or the appeasement of Iran, or the faint-hearted support for Israel, or standing up to China.
One of the themes in the November election was the importance of change – in the economy, on illegal immigration, and on foreign policy, where suddenly under Joe Biden the world is now on fire.
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Hegseth will be an unconventional change agent at the Pentagon. A disruptor, even. It’s what the country wants. And he is also a man of faith who, like the rest of us, has made mistakes in the past. But, like all of us sinners, he is working to change himself. Take a listen:
Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., reacts to Trump defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth’s Senate confirmation hearing on ‘The Evening Edit.’
PETE HEGSETH: “I’m not a perfect person, as has been acknowledged, saved by the grace of God, by Jesus and Jenny. I’m not a perfect person, but redemption is real, and God forged me in ways that I know I’m prepared for.”
I love that, just love that. And my saintly wife knows a thing or two about it herself. And that’s the riff.
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This article is adapted from Larry Kudlow’s opening commentary on the Jan. 14, 2025, edition of “Kudlow.”