OAN Staff Blake Wolf
11:14 AM – Monday, December 9, 2024
Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, has received grassroot support from over 100 members of the military community, who are planning to march in support of Hegseth on the day of his confirmation hearing.
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The Navy SEAL Foundation’s Bill Brown, a Navy SEAL veteran, is responsible for organizing the event, in which over 100 Navy SEAL veterans plan to march in support of Hegseth’s confirmation as he’s been a longtime supporter of the Navy SEAL community, being deeply ingrained.
“Pete Hegseth has been a monumental part of promoting that Navy SEALs Swim. He swam across the Hudson River a number of years in a row. And so he’s been a big advocate for the Navy SEALs, and now that he needs help, the Navy SEALs and Bill Brown has turned around, and they are going to be helping Pete Hegseth in any way that they can,” stated podcast host Alec Lace.
Hegseth, a former combat veteran and weekend Fox News co-host, has long been a participant in the annual New York City SEAL Swim across the Hudson River, which is a rigorous multi-sport open-water swimming event meant to “bring together Former SEALs, Veterans, Police Officers, Fire Fighters, and First Responders from across the country.”
Lace shared that Brown sent out a chain email to the Navy SEALs Swim participants, which reportedly received an “immediate and overwhelming” response in return, as veterans and participants look to support Hegseth who has been involved in supporting the event for years.
“Now the veteran community and, in particular, the SEAL community is going to be there to have Pete’s back,” Lace continued.
The support follows after Republican Iowa Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) has abstained from issuing support for Hegseth, drawing backlash from Trump’s supporters.
Ernst will likely play a key role in Hegseth’s confirmation as support from Republican senators is paramount.
Ernst, a sexual assault survivor, stated that she needed to “speak to Hegseth” regarding sexual assault in the military, insinuating that she’s questioning Hegseth’s character following a past sexual misconduct allegation against him, dating back to 2017, which Hegseth has adamantly denied.
Additionally, Ernst also revealed that she needed to speak with Hegseth in regards to a woman’s role in the military. Hegseth previously suggested that he does not support women in combat military roles.
“I am a survivor of sexual assault so I have worked very heavily on sexual assault measures within the military, so I’d like to hear a little more about that, and I’d like to hear about the role of women in our great United States military,” Ernst stated.
Following the uncertainty on Hegseth’s confirmation, Trump doubled down on his support, stating that he’s a “young guy with a tremendous track record.”
“Pete is doing well now, I mean, people were a little bit concerned. He’s a young guy with a tremendous track record. Actually went to Princeton and went to Harvard. He was a good student at both, but he loves the military, and I think people are starting to see it. So we’ll be working on his nomination, along with a lot of others,” Trump stated during an interview.
“I’ve known him through Fox, but I’ve known him for a long time, and he’s basically a military guy. Every time I talk to him, all he wants to talk about is the military. He’s a military guy,” Trump added.
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