Concerns about President-elect Donald Trump’s vetting process of his cabinet members have grown louder as new details about the prospective secretary of defense have surfaced. As previously reported by REVOLT, the GOP politician picked Pete Hegseth to oversee the Department of Defense, an executive branch responsible for protecting the nation and managing its military fleet.
Red-flag claims allege that Hegseth was labeled as a possible “insider threat” by a National Guard service member. The Associated Press published a minimally redacted email from the individual on Friday (Nov. 15). The 2021 message to military personnel read, in part, “MAJ Hegseth has a tattoo of ‘Deus Vult’ on his inner arm (bicep area). The phrase ‘Deus Vult’ is asocial with Supremacist groups in which White-Supremacist use of #DeusVult.”
The note continued, “This falls along the line of Insider Threat and this is what we as members of the U.S. Army District of Columbia National Guard and the Anti-Terrorism/Force Protection Team strive to prevent." By his own admission, Hegseth revealed he was one of 12 guardsmen who were not cleared to provide security for President Joe Biden’s 2021 inauguration.
“I was deemed an ‘extremist’ because of a tattoo by my National Guard unit in Washington, D.C.,” he said on “The Shawn Ryan Show” on Nov. 7. As a result, the controversial nominee’s “orders were revoked to guard the Biden inauguration.” Trump lauded his defense pick for aligning with his MAGA initiatives on Nov. 12. “Pete has spent his entire life as a Warrior for the Troops, and for the Country. Pete is tough, smart, and a true believer in America First,” said the soon-to-be 47th president of the United States of America in a released statement.
“With Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice — Our Military will be Great Again, and American will Never Back Down,” he continued. Hegseth is an Army veteran and Fox News pundit who holds degrees from Princeton and Harvard University. The twice-impeached leader of the free nation previously considered him for junction defense roles when he won the presidential race in 2016 against Hillary Clinton.
However, within two days of his nomination, CNN, among other news outlets, published reports revealing the former soldier’s 2017 sexual assault investigation. He was accused of having an encounter with a woman at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa in California that October. At the time, the National Federation of Republican Women was hosting a convention at the hotel. Hegseth was ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing, and charges were never filed.