It’s been a tumultuous few days for Pete Hegseth, as the future of his nomination to be President-elect Trump’s secretary of defense has been called into question over the blatherings of “anonymous sources.”
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When Wednesday dawned, things looked a little shaky for Hegseth. Reports emerged of a handful of Republican senators would didn’t support his nomination. Hegseth’s mother went on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” to defend her son against allegations of past bad behavior. Hegseth himself sat down for an hour-long interview with Megyn Kelly.
Some thought that Hegseth had one or two news cycles to get on top of the allegations and save his nomination; there was talk of Trump considering a plan B. Trump himself called Hegseth, who has been trying to whip up support on Capitol Hill, reportedly telling Hegseth to “Keep going, keep fighting, I’m behind you all the way.”
Wednesday seems to be ending on a higher note for the potential SecDef, judging by an op-ed he penned in today’s Wall Street Journal. The op-ed is entitled, I’ve Faced Fire Before. I Won’t Back Down, and in it, Hegseth tells of his years in the US Army, defending our nation while in on combat missions in Iraq.
Since the op-ed is behind the WSJ paywall, the Trump campaign was kind enough to share it in its entirety in a late-afternoon press release. We’ll put the text of it below, but let’s highlight some of the more important parts first.
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Of his time helming Vets for Freedom:
We traveled the country, stormed Capitol Hill, and returned to the battlefield to report on progress. We were young, bold and battle-hardened. Our passion was for the troops still fighting—and we had their backs.
We weren’t perfect, but we were always honest and earnest. We raised money honestly and spent it earnestly—to advance our cause. We weren’t political experts, but we were patriotic believers. Like veterans returning from any war, we drank beers to manage the reality of what we had faced. But we never did anything improper, and we treated everyone with respect. We had a new mission and fought for it.
On his time at Fox News:
Since then, I’ve been at Fox News—where I saw my work as a continuation of my mission to fight for America. Again, the legacy press has used anonymous sources to try to discredit even that. (Please see my X feed for all the on-the-record sources whom I did actually work with and who know what kind of person I am and how I conduct myself.)
On his return to faith after his journey as a war veteran:
But by the grace of God, I took another path. My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has renewed and restored my life. I am saved by his grace.
On his future as Donald Trump’s secretary of Defense nominee:
I am grateful President-elect Trump chose me to lead the Defense Department, and I look forward to an honest confirmation hearing with our distinguished senators—not a show trial in the press.
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Here it is in its entirety:
I’ve Faced Fire Before. I Won’t Back Down
On these pages 18 years ago I penned an article titled “More Troops, Please.” I was a young U.S. Army lieutenant who had just completed a combat tour in Iraq, and believed we needed more troops and a new strategy to turn the war around. I had seen a lot, been through a lot, and believed in my troops and the mission.
Ever since then, I have been fighting for our troops.
I didn’t know it at the time, but that op-ed launched my next mission—fighting for the warriors on the home front. Like many veterans of my generation, when I came home I jumped into a new mission—always looking for a way to channel the sense of purpose that had been unleashed in combat.
For me, that next mission meant taking over Vets for Freedom, an organization for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. We traveled the country, stormed Capitol Hill, and returned to the battlefield to report on progress. We were young, bold and battle-hardened. Our passion was for the troops still fighting—and we had their backs.
We weren’t perfect, but we were always honest and earnest. We raised money honestly and spent it earnestly—to advance our cause. We weren’t political experts, but we were patriotic believers. Like veterans returning from any war, we drank beers to manage the reality of what we had faced. But we never did anything improper, and we treated everyone with respect. We had a new mission and fought for it.
In the 2008 election, we fought hard for John McCain to defeat Barack Obama. We were a bit naive, so we doubled down on our political spending at the very end, when other groups pulled back. It was a tactical mistake, which left us in debt (like most political campaigns). But I stayed with the organization until all the debt was paid off and outstanding contracts negotiated.
Shortly thereafter, I volunteered—again—to deploy overseas, this time to Afghanistan while Mr. Obama was president. Fighting and winning our wars was never political to me. I wanted to do my part again; like many warriors of my generation, I found the battlefield had a recurring pull on my passions. But the war wasn’t going well, and we all knew it.
When I came back from that battlefield, I took the helm of another veterans organization, Concerned Veterans for America. My mission at home continued. This time we fought to fix our broken Department of Veterans Affairs healthcare system, and we made great progress. Our group was the original nexus of the VA accountability and VA healthcare choice legislation that improved the lives of countless veterans. Few groups in Washington ever accomplish as much as we did.
We fought entrenched interests and mobilized veterans and patriotic Americans across the country. We had hundreds of employees and thousands of volunteers—yet based on the anonymous accusations of a few disgruntled employees, the legacy media has made it sound as if we ran a college frat house. That’s just untrue.
What is true is that as our organization grew, there was an internal difference of opinion about its future. I wanted to engage in foreign policy; our donors didn’t. Eventually, the organization and I parted ways. The feeling was mutual, and the organization’s leadership wrote me a glowing letter when I left.
Since then, I’ve been at Fox News—where I saw my work as a continuation of my mission to fight for America. Again, the legacy press has used anonymous sources to try to discredit even that. (Please see my X feed for all the on-the-record sources whom I did actually work with and who know what kind of person I am and how I conduct myself.)
I’ve been through a lot: combat tours, job changes, divorces and family challenges. (Yes, I love my mom very much, and she loves me.) I have always led with honesty, integrity and passion. Tragically, many veterans never find the purpose for their next chapter and succumb to the bottle, depression or, worst of all, suicide. I understand what they are facing—because I’ve lived it. But by the grace of God, I took another path. My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has renewed and restored my life. I am saved by his grace.
The press is peddling anonymous story after anonymous story, all meant to smear me and tear me down. It’s a textbook manufactured media takedown. They provide no evidence, no names, and they ignore the legions of people who speak on my behalf. They need to create a bogeyman, because they believe I threaten their institutional insanity. That is the only thing they are right about.
Talk to those who served with me in Guantanamo Bay, Iraq, Afghanistan or the National Guard. They support me, and I’m honored by that. I have never backed down from a fight and won’t back down from this one. I am grateful President-elect Trump chose me to lead the Defense Department, and I look forward to an honest confirmation hearing with our distinguished senators—not a show trial in the press.
Read the Op-Ed from the WSJ here.
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This is a developing story. RedState will provide updates as they become available.