Dear Friend,

Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee for Defense Secretary, testified yesterday
before the U.S. Senate Armed Forces Committee.

But did we really hear from the REAL Hegseth? That’s the question many of
us, along with numerous U.S. Senators, are asking. We need our elected
leaders to keep doing their jobs!

[ [link removed] ]***SIGN OUR PETITION calling on the U.S. Senate to take their jobs
seriously and reject Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Defense, Pete
Hegseth.

While Hegseth did a perfectly fine job reading the statement written for
him and doing his best to avoid answering any questions in any real
detail, what he couldn’t explain is how just a few months ago he strongly
held sexist beliefs that women and moms should serve limited roles in the
military. [1] But now…. he’s apparently changed his mind.

So which Hegseth should we believe? And do we really want to take the risk
that this completely unqualified (see below!) and flip-flopping nominee
should be put in charge of 1.3 million active-duty service members and the
nearly 1 million civilians working for the U.S. military, as well as our
brave military families?

[ [link removed] ]Pete Hegseth is unqualified and unfit to serve as our Secretary of
Defense. Sign our petition now calling on your U.S. Senators to reject his
nomination. 

Pete Hegseth has said it time and time again himself that he doesn’t
believe women are fit to service in the military, especially moms:

“Dads push us to take risks. Moms put the training wheels on our bikes. We
need moms. But not in the military, especially in combat units.”-Hegseth
wrote this in his book “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the
Men Who Keep Us Free” published June 2024

And then yesterday at his confirmation hearing, Hegseth seemed to change
his tune. [2] Perhaps he had gotten word that our brave men and women in
uniform were not thrilled with his point of views or that his real views
on women were putting his own ambition at risk. Who knows!

[ [link removed] ]But what is clear is Pete Hegseth cannot be trusted. He is unqualified.
And he is a risk to our military and our families.

As Senator Elizabeth Warren (MA) said in the hearing, “I hope you
understand that many women serving in the military right now might think
that if you can convert so rapidly your long held and aggressively pursued
views in just 32 days, that 32 days after you get confirmed, maybe you'll
just reverse those views and go back to the old guy who said straight up,
women do not belong in combat now.”

The next step in this process is for the full U.S. Senate to vote on Pete
Hegseth’s nomination for Secretary of Defense. It will be a close vote and
we will defeat his nomination–in the same way that we defeated Matt Gaetz
as Attorney General–if we all use our voices and speak out→ [ [link removed] ]SIGN our
petition now telling your U.S. Senators to reject Pete Hegseth as
Secretary of Defense.

Thank you for speaking out on this important issue!

-Elyssa and the entire MomsRising team

P.S. Can you lift up our timely social media on Hegseth’s nomination on
[ [link removed] ]Instagram, [ [link removed] ]Facebook, [ [link removed] ]BlueSky, and [ [link removed] ]Twitter/X?

References:
[1] [ [link removed] ]“Hegseth’s views on women in combat, infidelity and more–in his own
words.” ABC News, January 13, 2025.
[2] [ [link removed] ]“Hegseth Grilled About Women in Combat, Officer Purge in
Confirmation Hearing.” Military.com, January 14, 2025.

---------- Forwarded message ---------
Date: Wed, Dec 15, 2024
From: Elyssa, MomsRising.org
To: Friend
Subject: SIGN OUR PETITION against Pete Hegseth as Defense Secretary!

 


SIGN OUR PETITION calling on the U.S. Senate to take their jobs seriously
and reject Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth.
[ [link removed] ]Take Action Now
[ [link removed] ]SIGN NOW

Dear Friend,

Donald Trump’s nominee for Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, is not only
grossly unqualified for the position—he’s also a total creep who has
allegations about sexual assault, drunken antics, and beliefs that women
shouldn’t serve in combat roles. 

Once again, Trump is nominating an unserious, creepy, likely predator for
a deeply serious Cabinet position. 

[ [link removed] ]***SIGN OUR PETITION calling on the U.S. Senate to take their jobs
seriously and reject Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Defense, Pete
Hegseth.

Pete Hegseth–who up until recently was mainly known as a Fox News morning
host– may have served in the National Guard, but almost everything he has
done since then has been steeped in controversy. [1] He is the type of guy
you wouldn’t want to be left alone in a room with, let alone in charge of
our brave military and military families. 

Let’s break it down for you:

* Hegseth was charged with sexual assault in 2017; [ [link removed] ]
* He was ousted from the veterans charity he ran due to allegations of
misconduct, including financial mismanagement, sexual impropriety,
sexist behavior, and repeatedly being intoxicated on the job; [ [link removed] ]
* His own mother once called him an “abuser of women” (seriously!!!);
[ [link removed] ]
* He supports using military forces to break up protestors on U.S.
streets and doesn’t believe women should serve in combat roles; [ [link removed] ]
* He has spoken out against “woke” military leaders–directly attacking
black and women military leaders. [ [link removed] ]

Hegseth, with little management experience, will be in charge of 1.3
million active-duty service members and the nearly 1 million civilians
working for the U.S. military. 

The Defense Secretary also oversees a whopping $841.4 billion budget. This
guy couldn’t run an organization with a budget a fraction of this.

And it’s not just the fact that this guy is a total creep. He’s far from
the right person for the job. Nearly 1 in 4 women in the military report
having experienced sexual assault, and more than half report harassment.
Reports of sexual assault in the military have risen by an estimated 25%
since 2018, according to the military’s own data, which include both
anonymous surveys and formal reports. [ [link removed] ] We can’t have a Secretary of
Defense who doesn’t take these allegations seriously, let alone commits
these violations himself. 

[2]**Speak out now against Pete Hegseth! Tell your Senators to reject his
nomination for Defense Secretary.

Credible allegations of impropriety have often been cause for withdrawal
of disqualification to Cabinet positions. Hegseth isn’t the only Trump
nominee to have sexual misconduct allegations in their past–it seems to be
one of the things most of his nominees have in common. 

[3]But we have been able to defeat these types of nominees in the past. 

Most recently because YOU spoke out and used your voice Trump’s Attorney
General nominee Matt Gaetz was forced to withdraw his nomination because
he is drowning in allegations of paying for sex with underage girls (among
other things!). [ [link removed] ] 

The first time the U.S. Senate didn’t confirm a new president’s initial
Cabinet nominee was in 1989 when the Senate failed to confirm John Tower,
former President George H.W. Bush’s pick for defense secretary after he
was accused of being an alcoholic womanizer. Sound familiar!?

The President is allowed to nominate whoever he wants to serve in his
Cabinet. But it is the job of the U.S. Senate to research, question, and
confirm or reject those nominees. We need the U.S. Senate to take its role
in this process seriously and recognize that Pete Hegseth is unqualified,
unstable, and harmful to our U.S. military.

[4]We can defeat Pete Hegseth’s nomination and make sure our military is
run by a Secretary who is experienced and respected. We just need to use
our voices to speak out!

[5]SIGN OUR LETTER to your U.S. Senators now telling them to reject Pete
Hegseth’s nomination to be Secretary of Defense!

We’ve already succeeded in defeating one of Trump’s nominees when Matt
Gaetz was forced to withdraw his nomination for Secretary of the
Department of Justice. We all need to pitch in to provide the same amount
of pressure so Pete Hegseth’s nomination is roadblocked as well. After you
[6]sign our petition, forward this email to your friends and family so
they can sign on as well and [7]post the link to social media.

Thank you for speaking out and using your voice!

-Elyssa, Ruth, Kristin, Donna, Jenny, Nate, Sue Anne, and the whole
MomsRising.org & MamásConPoder Team

References:
[1] [8]“7 Things to know about Pete Hegseth, Trump’s defense secretary
pick.” PBS News, November 18, 2024. 
[2] [ [link removed] ]“Police reports new details from sexual assault allegations against
Trump’s defense secretary nominee.” CNN, November 21, 2024. 
[3] [ [link removed] ]“Pete Hegseth’s Secret History.” The New Yorker, December 1,
2024. 
[4] [ [link removed] ]“Pete Hegseth’s Mom Once Called Him ‘An Abuser of Women,’ Adding
to His Controversies As Defense Sec Nom.” People Magazine, December 3,
2024.
[5] [ [link removed] ]“Military Leaders are Rattled By A List of ‘Woke’ officers that a
group urges Hegseth to fire.” Politico, December 7, 2024. 
[6] [ [link removed] ]“Hegseth, advocate for firing ’woke’ military leaders, picked for
defense secretary.” Reuters, November 13, 2024.
[7] [ [link removed] ]“Hegseth is the wrong leader for women in the military, warn women
veterans and lawmakers.” The 19th, December 5, 2024. 
[8] [ [link removed] ]“Former Rep Matt Gaetz withdraws as Trump’s attorney general
pick.” NPR, November 21, 2024. 


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