Calls for Resignation of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
A group of Democratic congresswomen, including veterans from the armed forces, is calling for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to both apologize and resign. This demand follows his action of sharing a video featuring a Christian nationalist church led by pastors who oppose the 19th Amendment—the amendment that grants women the right to vote—and believe women should not hold certain combat and leadership roles.
Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), a former Army helicopter pilot who lost both legs in combat in Iraq, expressed her views to the Military Times, stating, “these opinions are not only outdated and utterly incorrect, but they are also dangerously crafted to justify the discrimination and mistreatment of women, including those who serve in uniform to protect Americans.”
“Pete Hegseth is arguably the least qualified defense secretary in the history of the United States, commanding tens of thousands of highly capable women who genuinely deserve and have earned their positions, unlike him,” Duckworth continued. “Every day he remains in office, his incompetence and sheer foolishness further endanger our troops and national security. He should immediately resign in disgrace.”
In the controversial video shared by Hegseth, the pastors also expressed their desire for the U.S. to transform into a Christian republic and advocated for criminalizing homosexuality and the submission of women to their husbands. Pastor Doug Wilson stated in the video, “Women are merely the beings from which others are born… merely reproducing biologically requires no particular skill.”
Representative Chrissy Houlahan (D-Penn.), an Air Force veteran and previous advocate for Hegseth’s resignation, told Military Times that Hegseth’s endorsement of a theology that opposes women’s suffrage and seeks to criminalize homosexuality represents unacceptable political and religious advocacy for someone in his position.
“Regrettably, this is just another instance of how he and the Trump administration continue to undermine and marginalize women and the LGBTQ community, dismissing their achievements and stripping away their hard-earned rights,” she added.
Hegseth captioned his shared video on X with “All of Christ for All of Life,” a phrase Pastor Wilson explained to the Associated Press as the church’s customary closing for services, indicating Hegseth’s agreement with the message.
Representative Maggie Goodlander (D-NH), a former Navy Reserves intelligence officer, also criticized Hegseth, describing him as “unfit to serve in any public trust role” to Military Times, and echoed the call for his immediate removal.
The Military Times reached out to Republican female military veterans in Congress for their views but had not received any comments at the time of publication. Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA), however, confirmed Hegseth’s nomination as defense secretary after he assured during his confirmation hearing that women meeting the standards would continue to serve in combat roles.
Prior to his confirmation, Hegseth had expressed skepticism about women in combat roles, which had been opened to them by Defense Secretary Ash Carter in 2016. Since then, women have successfully obtained positions as Army Rangers, Green Berets, and Navy combat-craft crewmen by passing the same rigorous tests required of men.
In a podcast with Shawn Ryan last year before his nomination, Hegseth stated, “I’m straight up saying we should not have women in combat roles. It hasn’t made us more lethal and has only complicated fighting.”
A graduate of Princeton and Harvard, Hegseth authored “The War on Warriors,” a book criticizing the military’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, blaming them for recruitment challenges. “There just aren’t enough lesbians from San Francisco who want to join the 82nd Airborne,” he wrote. “Not only do the lesbians not join, but those very same ads also dissuade the young, patriotic, Christian men who traditionally fill our ranks.”
The Democratic Women’s Caucus, led by Chair Teresa Leger Fernández (D-NM), has also condemned Hegseth’s actions. Fernández accused him of using his platform to regress a century of progress for women. Women secured the right to vote with the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920, after suffragists like Lucy Burns and Alice Paul endured imprisonment and forced feedings for peacefully protesting outside the White House.
“Secretary Hegseth, you oversee brave women who serve and lead troops, risking their lives for this country. It’s absolutely disgraceful to imply they don’t deserve their voting rights and are only valued as mothers,” stated Fernández. “Secretary Hegseth, we won’t go back, but you should. We demand you renounce this message and affirm your commitment to uphold the 19th Amendment—a critical part of the Constitution you swore to defend.”
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Jamal Peterson reports on defense, aerospace, and tech policy. With a military background and a strategic mind, he dissects complex subjects with clarity, offering readers sharp, reliable insights.
