January 14, 2025
The Manufactured Outrage Over Pete Hegseth’s Nomination for Secretary of Defense
By Charlton Allen
Pete Hegseth, President Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Defense, is facing a relentless smear campaign that ranges from the petty to the absurd. Chief among these efforts are allegations from a disgruntled former employee of Concerned Veterans for America (CVA), where Hegseth served as CEO—claims that lack credibility and have resurfaced years after her brief tenure.
Meanwhile, critics have seized on other manufactured controversies, including Hegseth’s Christian tattoo, which has been assailed as extremist. This attack on his faith—and on traditional Christian imagery—reveals a deep hypocrisy, as such scrutiny would never be applied to other religious traditions. But these efforts to discredit Hegseth obscure the larger issue: his qualifications and commitment to reform, which make him the right choice to lead the Pentagon.
Civilian Oversight: A Foundational Principle
The criticism of Hegseth often boils down to the claim that he lacks sufficient military credentials, with detractors pointing to Lloyd Austin as the ideal model of leadership. But this argument undermines a foundational principle of American governance: civilian control of the military.
Since the nation’s founding, civilian leadership of the armed forces has been a safeguard against the concentration of military and political power. While the position of Secretary of Defense has existed only since 1947, its roots lie in the role of Secretary of War, which dates to the earliest days of the republic. To reinforce this principle, U.S. law prohibits individuals who have recently served as active-duty officers from holding the position, with exceptions granted only three times—for George C. Marshall, James Mattis, and Lloyd Austin.
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2025/01/the_manufactured_outrage_over_pete_hegseth_s_nomination_for_secretary_of_defense.html
