Tammy Duckworth Tells Hegseth His Failures as Defense Secretary Have Been "Staggering" - Liberal Lens

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Senator Tammy Duckworth delivered one of the most forceful critiques yet of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, accusing him of staggering failures, wasted billions, and dangerously misusing the U.S. military.

Duckworth cited a costly and unsuccessful operation in the Red Sea, losses of advanced aircraft, the sharing of sensitive information without proper safeguards, and a leadership crisis inside the Pentagon. She warned that diverting troops toward domestic policing and immigration enforcement undermines readiness, erodes trust, and pulls the military away from its core mission of defending the nation from foreign threats.

As a combat veteran, Duckworth framed her criticism not as politics, but as a defense of military professionalism, constitutional limits, and the service members put at risk by poor leadership decisions.

This exchange matters because strength is not measured by rhetoric — it is measured by discipline, focus, and results.