In Confirmation Hearing, Shaheen Confronts Secretary of Defense Nominee Hegseth on Views on Women in the Armed Forces
**Hegseth would not commit to upholding the Women, Peace and Security law that ensures women are involved at every stage and on every level of national security**
(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a senior member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), questioned Pete Hegseth, the President-elect's nominee to be the next U.S. Secretary of Defense, today about his support for women service members during his SASC-led confirmation hearing. When pressed by Shaheen to commit to supporting the Women, Peace and Security law she led to enhance representation of women in national security to prevent and resolve global conflicts, Hegseth would not commit to upholding it. Click here to view Shaheen’s full remarks and questioning.
On not getting a meeting with nominee Hegseth, Shaheen said: “One reason that I wanted to meet with you was because I thought it would be really helpful to better understand your views on women in the military, because you've made a number of surprising statements about women serving in the military.”
On Hegseth changing his view on women in the military after being nominated, Shaheen asked: “Why should women in our military, if you were the Secretary of Defense, believe that they would have a fair shot and an equal opportunity to rise through the ranks? If on the one hand you say that women are not competent, they make our military less effective. And on the other hand you say, 'oh no, now that I've been nominated to be Secretary of Defense, I've changed my view on women in the military.’ What do you have to say to the almost 400,000 women who are serving today about your position on whether they should be capable to rise to the highest ranks of our military?”
On preserving the Women, Peace and Security law at the Department of Defense, Shaheen asked: “[The Women, Peace and Security law] is a law that was signed during President-elect Trump’s first term. It was legislation that I sponsored with Republican Senator Capito of West Virginia, it was cosponsored by Marco Rubio, the nominee to be the President-elect's Secretary of State, it was led in the House of Representatives by Kristi Noem, the President-elect's nominee to be the Secretary of Homeland Security. It mandates that women be included in all aspects of our national security, including conflict resolution and peace negotiations. And at the Department of Defense, it has been the law for eight years under both the Trump and Biden administrations... Based on your comments, it appears that the example that you would like to set, not only for women in this country but for women across the globe, 50 percent of the world’s population, as the prospective nominee to lead the most combat credible military in the entire world, is that women should not have an equal opportunity. So will you commit to preserving the Women, Peace and Security law at DoD, and including in your budget the requisite funding to continue to restore and resource these programs throughout the DoD?”
When Hegseth responded that he would review the program to determine if it advances American interests, Shaheen said, “Well since former President Trump signed the law, I hope that he agrees with you.”
As the second-ranking Democrat on SASC, Senator Shaheen is instrumental in helping to accomplish top national security objectives and enhancing New Hampshire’s role in support of America’s national defense. A member of the Committee since 2011, Shaheen has voted to confirm multiple nominees from both parties under multiple administrations.
Senator Shaheen is the top Democrat on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and also serves on the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs and Defense. In 2018, Shaheen re-established the bipartisan U.S. Senate NATO Observer Group with U.S. Senator Tillis (R-NC). Senator Shaheen believes that a strong and active United States is fundamental to securing our national interests at home and abroad. She also believes that U.S. global leadership is directly tied to the strength of our ideals, our alliances and our diplomacy, and she is constantly working to ensure our national security policies reflect our broader democratic values.
In 2017, Senator Shaheen’s bipartisan legislation with Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), the Women, Peace and Security Act, was signed into law by President Donald Trump, requiring the U.S. Government to strengthen the meaningful participation of women in conflict prevention and peace negotiations.
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