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Defense Confirmation Opening Statement — page 1

Pete Hegseth

Opening Statement, Secretary of Defense Nomination Hearing

Senate Armed Services Committee, January 14, 2025

Thank you Chairman Wicker, Ranking Member Reed, and all members of this Committee for

the opportunity today. I am grateful for, and learned a great deal from, this “advise and

consent” process. Should I be confirmed, I look forward to working with this Committee—

Senators from both parties—to secure our nation.

I want to thank the former Senator from Minnesota, Norm Coleman, for his mentorship and

friendship in this process. And the incoming National Security Advisor, Congressman—and

more importantly—Colonel Mike Waltz, for his powerful words. I am grateful for you both.

Thank you to my incredible wife Jennifer, who has changed my life and been with me

throughout this entire process. I love you sweetheart, and I thank God for you. And as Jenny

and I pray together each morning, all glory—regardless of the outcome—belongs to our Lord

and Savior Jesus Christ. His grace and mercy abound each day. May His will be done.

Thank you to my father Brian and mother Penny, as well as my entire family—including our

seven wonderful kids: Gunner, Jackson, Peter Boone, Kenzie, Luke, Rex & Gwendolyn. Their

future safety and security is in all our hands.

And to all the troops and veterans watching, and in this room—Navy SEALs, Green Berets,

Pilots, Sailors, Marines, Gold Stars and more. Too many friends to name. Officers and

Enlisted. Black and White. Young and Old. Men and Women. All Americans. All warriors. This

hearing is for you. Thank you for figuratively, and literally, having my back. I pledge to do the

same for you.

All of you

It is an honor to come before this Committee as President Donald Trump’s nominee for the

office of Secretary of Defense. Two months ago, 77 million Americans gave President Trump

a powerful mandate for change. To put America First—at home and abroad. I want to thank

President Trump for his faith in me, and his selfless leadership of our great Republic. The

troops could have no better Commander-in-Chief than Donald Trump.

As I’ve said to many of you in our private meetings, 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 warfighting,

lethality, meritocracy, standards, and readiness. That’s it. That is my job.

To that end, if confirmed, I’m going to work with President Trump—and this committee—to:

Defense Confirmation Opening Statement — page 2

Restore the Warrior Ethos

to the Pentagon and throughout our fighting force; in doing

so, we will reestablish trust in our military—and address the recruiting, retention and

readiness crisis in our ranks. The strength of our military is our unity—our shared

purpose—not our differences.

Rebuild our Military

, always matching threats to capabilities; this includes reviving

our defense industrial base, reforming the acquisition process (no more “Valley of

Death” for new defense companies), modernizing our nuclear triad, ensuring the

Pentagon can pass an audit, and rapidly fielding emerging technologies.

Re-establish Deterrence

. First and foremost, we will defend our homeland—our

borders and our skies. Second, we will work with our

partners and allies

to deter

aggression in the Indo-Pacific from the communist Chinese. Finally, we will

responsibly end wars to ensure we can prioritize our resources—and reorient to larger

threats. We can no longer count on “reputational deterrence”—we need real

deterrence.

The Defense Department under Donald Trump will achieve Peace Through Strength. And in

pursuing these America First national security goals, we will remain patriotically a-political

and stridently Constitutional. Unlike the current administration,

politics should play no part

in military matters

. We are not Republicans or Democrats—we are American warriors. Our

standards will be high, and they will be equal (not equitable, that is a very different word).

We need to make sure every warrior is fully qualified on their assigned weapon system, every

pilot is fully qualified and current on the aircraft they are flying, and every general or flag

officer is selected for leadership based purely on performance, readiness, and merit.

Leaders—at all levels—will be held accountable. And warfighting and lethality—and the

readiness of the troops

and their families

—will be our only focus.

That has been my focus ever since I first put on the uniform as a young Army ROTC cadet at

Princeton University in 2001. I joined the military because I love my country and felt an

obligation to defend it. I served with incredible Americans in Guantanamo Bay, Iraq,

Afghanistan and in the streets of Washington, DC—many of which are here today. This

includes enlisted soldiers I helped become American citizens, and Muslim allies I helped

immigrate from Iraq and Afghanistan. And when I took off the uniform, my mission never

stopped.

It is true that I don’t have a similar biography to Defense Secretaries of the last 30 years. But,

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? 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.

Defense Confirmation Opening Statement — page 3

My only special interest is—the warfighter. Deterring wars, and if called upon, winning

wars—by ensuring our warriors never enter a fair fight. We let them win and then bring them

home. Like many of my generation, I’ve been there. I’ve led troops in combat…been on patrol

for days…pulled a trigger downrange…heard bullets whiz by…flex-cuffed insurgents…called

in close air support…led medevacs…dodged IEDs…pulled out dead bodies…and knelt

before a battlefield cross…

this is not academic for me;

this is my life. I led then, and I will

lead now.

Ask anyone who has ever worked with me—or for me.

I know what I don’t know.

My success

as a leader…and I very much look forward to discussing our many successes at my previous

organizations, Vets for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America. I’m incredibly proud

of the work we did. My success as a leader…has always been setting a clear vision, hiring

people smarter and more capable than me, empowering them to succeed, holding everyone

accountable, and driving toward clear metrics. Build the plan. Work the plan. And then work

harder than everyone around you.

The President has given me a clear vision, and I will execute. I’ve sworn an oath to the

Constitution before, and—if confirmed—will proudly do it again. This time, for the most

important deployment of my life.

I pledge to be a faithful partner to this committee. Taking input and respecting oversight. We

share the same goals: a ready, lethal military; the health and wellbeing of our troops; and a

strong and secure America.

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to your questions.

Defense Confirmation Opening Statement

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