A combative Tammy Duckworth says Hegseth ‘not qualified’published at 18:15 Greenwich Mean Time
Nomia Iqbal
North America correspondent, reporting from Capitol Hill
Watch: Senator Duckworth says Hegseth is ‘not qualified’ in fiery questioning
If Hegseth gets this job, he’ll face an array of global problems from countries such as Russia,
China, North Korea and Iran, not to mention the ongoing conflicts America is
involved in.
Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth
– who lost her legs while serving in the army – is combative in her tone.
She has made clear beforehand that Hegseth should not be in charge of one of the
most important agencies in the world.
She tells him now: “Our adversaries
watch closely during times of transition, and any sense that the Department of
Defense that keeps us safe is being steered by someone who’s wholly unprepared
for the job puts America at risk, and I am not willing to do that.”
She also points out the
hypocrisy of Hegseth asking for standards when it comes to women in combat
roles.
“Here’s a guy who
can’t meet the standards and is asking for special dispensation to do a job
that he’s not qualified to do,” she says.
To underline the point,
Hegseth is unable to answer Senator Duckworth’s question about the number nations theAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Hegseth replied: “We have
allies in South Korea, Japan, and Australia.”
“None of those
countries are in ASEAN,” Duckworth says.