Sen. John Curtis said he will vote for Pete Hegseth, who is President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for Defense secretary.
One of the few GOP senators who hadn’t said how he would vote on Hegseth’s nomination was the guy from Utah. This makes it much more possible that Hegseth will get the Cabinet job.
Curtis said he chose to support Hegseth “after careful consideration,” even though there were concerns about what he had said in the past about women in the military and claims of sexual misconduct.
“Some things he did in the past worry me, but I carefully weighed these worries against his qualifications, leadership style, and desire to strengthen the most respected military in the world,” Curtis said in a statement. “I am sure that Mr. Hegseth shares my goal of making sure that our armed forces are ready for the challenges of the 21st century.”
Curtis has recently talked about how important it is for senators to really understand their constitutional duty to give “advice and consent.”
Curtis told a Politico event on Tuesday that he would carefully think about all of Trump’s nominees, including what they said at meetings, before making a decision.
It didn’t matter if the person was controversial like Pete Hegseth or not, he said, “I can’t make a good decision if I don’t look at the whole sheet of music.”
He also said, “We’re all flawed” and no one is “perfect”: Curtis said, “I’ll be the first to tell you that if I were a nominee, things from my past would come up.”
Hegseth testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday and was asked questions about his time in the military and his personal life for several hours. Before Trump chose him for a Cabinet job, Hegseth was also a host on Fox News.
When Curtis made his choice public Wednesday night, he said that he had met with Hegseth, talked to people who knew him, watched his confirmation hearing, and read things that he had written.
He said, “Our military needs a change agent who will question the status quo, demand openness and accountability, and make sure our allies and strategic partners trust America’s resolve and ability to stand up for freedom.”
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